Anger Over An Emoji

 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19 NIV

The email that came yesterday was from one of my former students from several years earlier. The first sentence caught my attention: “Hi Nancy. I hope you are doing well,” it began, followed by “Because I am not!”

My mind immediately went to several scenarios. Is she sick? Or her husband or one of her three daughters? Have they experienced a financial loss? Does she need prayer? I quickly read on: “How could you do that to me? I was one of your students! You have known me since I was in kindergarten!” 

I found myself re-reading those last three sentences in confusion. Yes, I had known her for several years but after she and her family moved to the east coast,  our only communication consisted of comments on each other’s posts on Facebook. And that was the problem.

She continued: “On Facebook, I shared with everyone that my youngest daughter might have learning issues. I was worried about the tests she would need and the possibility of hearing aids as a baby. My friends are all sharing prayers and that they understood except for you. You hit the LAUGHING emoji! Why? As a nurse, you know how devastating hearing loss is, especially for a baby not a year old. You have broken my heart!”

I knew instantly what had happened. I am terrible at tagging the right emoji on Facebook. I have gone back so many times and changed what I had meant to convey from the wrong emoji to the right one when I remembered to put my glasses on. And what should have been an oops moment and a “good grief” at me instead became a huge issue to my student.

 

Immediately I sent back an email with “I am so sorry!” in the subject line. Then my explanation followed. “Please forgive me but I hit the wrong emoji. I meant to hit the caring one and want you to know that I have been praying for your daughter. I would never intentionally laugh at someone’s heartache or whatever they are going through. I am changing it right this minute. Again, please forgive me for not double-checking my response.” And I hit “send.”

That should have been the end of this unfortunate mistake but it wasn’t. I received four more emails from her over the next month outlining why it was important to send the right message with the right emoji (and links to articles written on that very subject). 

“I would never react in such an angry way if this happened to me,” I told myself. “I  would have shrugged and forgotten it because I would have known she had just hit the wrong image,” I reasoned. But, as He often does, the Lord reminded me of an incident in which I acted in the very same way as my student. 

A car had pulled up beside me at a stoplight. I was in the left turn lane and the woman beside me was in the lane that went straight ahead. But she didn’t. As the light turned green and I began my left turn, she also turned left. I came extremely close to hitting her. I  hit my brakes and allowed her to go in front of me to avoid a collision.  

 She did not hit me nor did I hit her. I’m not even sure she saw me.  It was not a big deal but the more I thought about it, the more I determined that she should have watched more closely where she was, which escalated to her needing glasses and ended up with her needing to lose her license! Oh, and it doesn’t stop there. I told three of my friends and made it sound like the Daytona 500 with me saving the day to avoid a fatal accident. Mercy!

Here’s what it comes down to: I am told in James 1:19 to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Not in some conversations or situations but in all instances. As a Christian, as an example to those around me of Christ’s love, I need to listen to everything around me with both my eyes and my heart, refuse to respond in a negative way, and deny anger a place in my thought closet.  

I knew there was only one humbling solution to my sin: I went before the Lord to ask for forgiveness and then I went to my three friends and asked them to forgive me for my attitude, for speaking without thinking and for senseless anger. Those precious ladies all accepted my apology quickly and without judgment. 

Am I more careful about hitting the wrong emoji on Facebook? I am. But I am also very thankful for a woman who took a wrong turn at a stop light and a Father who knew I needed to be reminded that my reaction to this world must be in line with Him. 

Father, I want my life to reflect you. Forgive me when I forget that. Help me to throw out anything in my life that does not glorify you. In Jesus’s name Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you ever gotten angry over something that was completely unimportant?

• Why do you think you reacted as you did?

Apply

• Memorize James 1:19. Keep a notecard in your purse with that Scripture on it.

• When a situation happens and you are tempted to do the opposite of this Scripture, take a deep breath, remind yourself Who your Father is, and act like His child.

Power

• James 1:19 ( NIV) “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be 

            quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

• Psalm 103:8 (NIV) “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

• Ephesians 4:2 (NIV) “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”