We live in a world where the opinions of almost everyone are made known with the tap of a finger. If we want to be heard, all we need to do is take to Facebook and air our thoughts for tons of people to see instantly. This can be both positive and negative. On the positive side, we have the capability of making our thoughts known to wide amounts of people in short amounts of time. This can benefit us when we want to make the Gospel known through social media or plug an awesome company for a friend. On the negative side, we have the capability of making our thoughts known to wide amounts of people in short amounts of time. This unfortunately means that when we get angry, there is the opportunity to take out our frustrations in a Facebook or blog post. It means that others have the opportunity to scrutinize your thoughts and bring you down for your beliefs.
I’m an advocate of social media. I think it can be used for really amazing things like keeping up with family or old friends. We have unfortunately gotten to a place where we have divorced our online presence from who we are in reality. We sit behind a laptop and make bold statements that we would never say in a real setting with real people. This has allowed us to post and comment things that we simply don’t think through very well.
Here are a few questions that Christians should ask themselves before posting to Social Media!
1) Am I adding something of value to the conversation? It’s really important that you use your words wisely. James 3:5-6 says this: “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James teaches that our words are powerful and that they can start a fire if we aren’t careful with them. When you post things to social media, make sure you are adding value to the discussion by saying wise things and not just fueling a wild fire of nonsense.
2) Is what I’m saying hurtful to another person? Whether you realize it or not, you’re the hands and feet of Jesus on your social media outlets just as you are in public. Your identity in Christ doesn’t change because you hopped online. It’s important to remember that you are to represent Christ in all that you say and do, so saying something hurtful to another person is no way to represent Christ. We learn Matthew 7:12 from a very early age: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. If you wouldn’t appreciate hearing it from someone else, don’t comment with it.
3) Is the intent of my message loving? One of my favorite verses in scripture is 1 Corinthians 13:1, which says that “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Sometimes, people need to hear the cold, hard truth. It’s fine to share that with them as long as its done tastefully out of a place of love and respect. You won’t get very far with your Facebook friends if you constantly sound like a clanging cymbal.
4) Would I say something like this in reality? Before posting your thoughts and comments on a social media outlet, make sure that its something you would also feel comfortable saying in a public setting. The internet often gives us a boldness to say things boldly that we might not say face to face with another person. Paul had this issue as well even without the internet. In 2 Corinthians 10:1 he says: “Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ–though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away.” Paul can use his words to cut right to the heart of the problem, but it seems that he may have exercised a little more meekness when he met with his churches face to face. We are to be a people who live above reproach. Don’t even let others accuse you of being bold behind a screen, but timid in reality. Just be yourself consistently!
5) Am I able to support my thoughts with facts and logic? I was scrolling through my Facebook page one day and saw where a lady had posted that LOL stood for Lucifer, our Lord” and she was encouraging everyone to stop using LOL. I literally LOL’d when I read it, because I was aware of the origins of LOL and knew exactly what it meant. She was an older lady who based her knowledge on hearsay. Ephesians 4:11-14 says this: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” In this passage, Paul is saying that there are knowledgable teachers placed in the church to teach the church what it looks like to follow Christ. The more knowledge that’s given to the people of Ephesus, the less they will be prone to believing random teachings that aren’t true. This might be a slight stretch, but just hear me out. If we’re supposed to be people grounded in the truth, then its a poor reflection on the church when we spew nonsense (no matter the subject matter) rather than providing thought provoking ideas based in fact and truth.
These are just a few questions that I think are essential for believer’s to ask themselves before posting on social media outlets. There is a vast world out there full of ideas and opinions. May we approach that diversity with grace, truth, and love.
Cognitive Panorama 