19Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
Written letters can be a very powerful tool for good or for evil. Nehemiah is working hard with God’s help to finish the wall around Jerusalem. It has been in disrepair, unable to provide protection to those who live within it confines. It is now complete. Tobiah was the ruling governor of that region of the world. He is responsible to the king for the activities in his area of responsibility. If the Israelites rebel, it will be his neck on the line. So he writes an official letter in order to intimidate Nehemiah, to get him to stop building. Today, we don’t write as many letters as we used to. Instead, we now text and email. In the best of circumstances these are poor at communicating what is meant. Over 80% of what we say is non-verbal. So you take that out and you get lots of misunderstanding. Emoticons not withstanding, it is very hard to express emotion in a text message. And besides, secret communications can easily be made, alienating a spouse. When trust has been broken, these hidden messages become even more toxic when discovered. You can’t imagine the number of wrestling matches that occur over a cell phone or laptop. Letters, texts and emails are a written record of not just events, but of relationships, both innocent and not so innocent. My suggestion is that you close out all the secret email accounts and stop all outside communication with the “other.” Stop it now before a war starts.
The Arnold Journey 