AMUCK - WHEN SOCIAL MEDIA STINGS
- Website Admin
- May 15, 2020
- 3 min read
Have you ever found yourself painfully regretting a social media post, pic, or response? Have you ever attempted to address an issue or comment on one of your platforms only to soon discover that you're in the middle of a full-blown argument? Join the crowd. It’s a common experience. Unfortunately, for all the good it offers, Social Media also provides a great opportunity for believers to ruin their personal witness.
Let’s face it, words matter. Whether they come from your mouth or the touch of your fingers on some version of a keyboard is quite beside the point. Either method of communication has the power to build or break. Either form of communication will either encourage and edify or bruise and batter. Make no mistake, the absence of your audible voice does nothing to diminish the sting of your words.
The book of Proverbs tells us that, “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” (Proverbs 10:18–19, ESV) Such wisdom is applicable in nearly every arena of life, not the least of which is the arena of social media. One thing is for certain, what happens on social does not stay on social media.
In a helpful article entitled “Solomon on Social Media,” Tim Challies gives this timely warning: “There are many web sites, blogs and Twitter accounts dedicated almost entirely to gossip, to sharing what is dishonorable rather than what is noble. Avoid these people and their gossip!”[i]
According to one source, there are around 3.5 billion active Social Media users daily. [ii] Facebook remains the most widely used platform, being used by nearly 2/3 of the U.S population.[iii] With all of this interaction, plenty of room is made for idle, slanderous, and cutting words and often it’s done with little to no consideration to the damage caused.
Scripture isn’t silent on the topic. Matt 12:36 states, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,”. Add to this the words of Proverbs 17:28, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” Suffice it to say that as helpful and beneficial as social media may at times be, it can also serve as a dangerous platform from which to ruin one’s personal testimony. With this in view, let’s consider the path to ruin.
SIXTEEN SIMPLE WAYS TO RUIN YOUR WITNESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
1. EMBRACE AN ALTER EGO – PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE YOU COULD NEVER MEASURE UP TO.
2. COMPARTMENTALIZE YOUR FAITH – VIEW YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTION AS SEPARATE FROM YOUR FAITH.
3. USE YOUR PLATFORMS TO BOAST IN YOURSELF – MAKE YOURSELF THE HERO OF EVERYTHING AND DO IT CONSTANTLY!
4. PLAY THE GAME OF “WHO HAS THE BEST LIFE NOW”
5. VIEW EVERY POST AS A MOUNTAIN TO DIE ON
6. DISSEMINATE STORIES WITHOUT DETERMINING THEIR VALIDITY
7. PLACE A HIGHER VALUE ON YOUR POLITICAL OPINIONS THAN ON YOUR PERSONAL WITNESS
8. PRACTICE AND PROMOTE YOUR PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE MEN…ON SOCIAL MEDIA
9. BUY INTO THE LIE THAT ONLINE ENGAGEMENT CAN BE EASILY ERASED
10. TELL YOURSELF THAT THOSE READING YOUR POSTS “KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN”.
11. MAKE A HABIT OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY OR UPSET
12. BECOME A SLAVE TO YOUR APPETITE TO BE “LIKED”.
13. CAST YOUR SOCIAL PEARLS TO THE SOCIAL SWINE
14. USE YOUR SOCIAL PLATFORMS TO FILL YOUR “TANK” INSTEAD OF DEALING WITH THE CAUSE OF THE EMPTINESS.
15. FAIL TO REMEMBER THE FACT THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS SIMPLY A MAGNIFYING GLASS- IT MAGNIFIES WHATS ALREADY IN YOU
16. TELL YOURSELF THAT A WELL-PLACED EMOJI COVERS OFFENSIVE TALK
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