By Andrea Merrell

Be happy with those who are happy, 

and weep with those whoweep.

Romans 12:15 NLT

Emojis are everywhere. They haveinfiltrated our technology, and we all love and use them. There is an emoji forjust about anything you can imagine—from love to tears to shock to anger toprayer and everything in between. We like to choose our favorites whenresponding to a text, post, or email.

But have you ever inserted the wrongone?

I have a friend who accidentallyinserted a laughing face when responding to a very serious situation and prayerrequest, causing confusion and hurt feelings.

It made me think about how importantit is to respond and share our feelings with others in the right way, both inour words and body language. It can be very hard to read someone and know what’sreally in their heart.

The Bible tells us to be happy withthose who are happy. To rejoice and celebrate with them. To share theirjoy. It also tells us to weep with those who weep. To empathize withthem. To share their sorrow.

In a cruel world full of insensitivity,it’s critical for believers to let the love of God flow through us to others.

The next time you respond to someone—whetherthrough technology or face-to-face—make sure you convey the right message.

 Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and farconville.