A Pillow Case Full of Feathers

I heard an analogy once that goes something like this…

There was a woman who gossiped. She went to her pastor, after realizing that she had slanderd someone, and asked how she could fix the situation. The pastor told her to get a pillow case and fill it with feathers.

Once she did, he told her to go to a rooftop and shake the feathers out. Then he told her find every feather and put it back in the pillow case.

She replied, “But pastor, that is impossible. There’s no way I can possibly find all those feathers. The wind will blow them everywhere!”

The pastor replied, “You’re right. That’s what gossip is like.”

This post isn’t about gossip; it is about reputation. But both are hard to contain once made known.

Every time we make an appearance online we are contributing to our reputations.

Every time.

The sober reality of online presence has pushed me to be more intentional about who we are, who we serve, and what we put out into the world.

In this social media day and age, eyes are on us whether we know it or not. We are creating a reputation that will not only become a legacy but a lamp illuminating our character. Every tweet, facebook blurb, blog post, etc., is a catalog of who we are and what we are reflecting to the world. We are called, as followers of Jesus, to be intentional, prayerful, and wise about our presence.

The feathers of our reputation are spreading far and fast, and can’t be contained once let loose.

What do our feathers say about us?

How can we use them to make a difference?

Check out the Relevant conference, where women are coming together to be intentional in the larger blog and social media world.

by Sarah Mae, Like a Warm Cup of Coffee