Tom Daley and Christian Voice: What the Twitter row really has to teach us

Team GB has just flown back in a specially-chartered plane with a gold nose-cone. Jolly well done, too; it's all been splendid. We might not be very good at politics at home, but abroad we've been given something to be proud of.

Among those getting off the plane to a hero's welcome was diver Tom Daley. Daley took bronze with Dan Goodfellow in the synchronised 10m event but flopped in the individual final. He was one of several who didn't achieve their dreams. You have to wonder what the journey home was really like, with rejoicing and heartbreak sitting side by side.

However, there was no sympathy from Stephen Green, the founder of the hyper-conservative Christian Voice organisation. In an astonishingly crass tweet, Green said: "Turning gay doesn't seem to have done Tom Daley any favours at #Rio2016."

Green – whose ex-wife, incidentally, has accused him of being physically and emotionally abusive to her and their children – was roundly abused on Twitter, quite rightly. JK Rowling nailed it, as so often: "Can't decide which is more offensive in this tweet, the stupidity or the spite." It's a tough call but I'd probably go for the spite.

There are good reasons for simply refusing to report anything Green says on oxygen-of-publicity grounds. After all, Christian Voice is just him. It's not very Christian and the "voice" bit is only because he is adept at winding people up. The trouble is that he really is good at that, and social media being what it is, everyone has picked up on it. And it's right and proper that Christians should be saying, "Not in my name" and joining the chorus of outrage.

But maybe we can take things a little further. What does Green teach us about how to talk about other people – especially people with whom we might disagree, whether it's because they're gay or because they voted for Brexit? Here are three ideas. And they are not hard to grasp.

1. Be respectful.

Every human being is made in the image of God. Every one of us is a child of God: "Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?" (Malachi 2:10). Those are extraordinary statements, and they mean every person deserves the fullest, unconditional respect. It doesn't depend on whether they are Christians or not, or whether they are virtuous or not. It just depends on them being human. If you loathe someone's stance on politics or sexuality or religion, set your feelings gently to one side. God made them.

2. Be kind.

Heaven knows there were enough Olympic failures as well as successes. Poor Lutalo Muhammad lost gold in the last second when he was kicked in the head. A sprinter made two false starts and was disqualified. Louis Smith was devastated when he lost to Max Whitlock on the pommel horse. On the other hand, when Germany lost to Brazil in a penalty shoot-out, German players clustered round Nils Petersen, whose penalty was saved, assuring him it wasn't his fault. Kindness is an under-rated virtue. It means we overlook someone's faults and treat them lovingly. We don't assume they'll get over a disappointment, we make it happen.

3. Be humble.

Like Tom Daley, I too have been up on a 10 metre board. Or rather, like Mr Bean; only the greater terror of looking ridiculous made me take the quick way down rather than using the stairs. Daley has achieved more than almost anyone else in the world in a sport that is frankly terrifying; a little humility, please. And there's a lesson here, too: when we look at what people have achieved, when we look at their strengths as well as their weaknesses, we are far less likely to judge them. We see them as rounded human beings, whose lives and opinions need to be understood rather than just condemned.

On the face of it, there isn't much to be said for Stephen Green – and there certainly isn't for his tweets. But of course, the real test comes when we have to be respectful, kind and humble even to people like him.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods