I’ve written 5 different blog posts this week that have gone unpublished. And they will probably stay unpublished because of a filter I came across recently. A filter of Scripture that is, quite honestly, inconvenient. It’s inconvenient because it requires humility and not always saying what’s on my mind. Two things I don’t always enjoy :)

I was reading the book of Philemon recently and verses 8 & 9 stood out to me. Paul writes: “Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love.”

Those verses convicted me. They convicted me of the fact that oftentimes, what I think is important to say, or what I want to say isn’t necessarily wrong, but that doesn’t make it right either. I could be bold and say it because “I have every right to.” But, when I stop and filter it on the basis of love, I am forced to ask if there is a better way or even a better time to say it. I’m forced to admit that what I think must be said really may not need to be said…or at least not in the way I want to say it at the time I want to say it.

That doesn’t mean I’ll get it right every time…that I’ll heed the filter when I should. But, I’m certainly going to try. Because in the end, I think there’s a lot of wisdom in it. I think there’s something to the whole “on the basis of love” thing. And it doesn’t just apply to blogging.