Four Considerations For Your Social Media Interactions

There are a number of Christians who use social media for wonderful purposes. Our Norton Baptist Church page puts out our live stream and allows me to post sermons and blog posts. Many have encouraged others with Bible verses and letting one another know we are praying for each other. It certainly can be a great tool for the body of Christ. But as with every tool, it can also have a negative impact on us, and I believe we need to cognizant of that impact. I find, in my own personal use, that I need to constantly evaluate my interactions, as what I say and do on social media is not done in a vacuum. More than that, I will be held accountable before my Lord for every part of it.

This morning, I saw someone I respect post on Twitter about a couple who got married and announced that the husband was going to take the wife’s last name rather than the tradition of a wife taking the husband’s last name. The interaction that followed led to a lot of laughing emoji’s and calling the man who did this neutered by others who I respect, men who are usually very Biblical. Now, I understand their concern about the Biblical mandate for men to be the head of their wives, but I know of a situation where a husband took his wife’s last name because his family was wicked and he preferred to have a new identity with his wife’s family. In other words, the action itself is not sinful or wrong, and it was clear no one looked into or had any knowledge of the specific circumstances in this case. They were all speaking without knowledge.

Solomon wrote, “The heart of the understanding acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Proverbs 18:15, Legacy Standard Bible). James said, “Know this, my beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19). This acquisition of knowledge should be a bare minimum for those who speak on an issue as we should want to speak only with understanding and wisdom. We ought to be slow to speak and quick to hear in order to avoid speaking out without knowledge. This is applicable, not only when we are in the physical presence of others, but also when we sound off on social media about others or to others that we do not know. In other words, we are not going to be excused for speaking without knowledge because it was on social media.

We ought to be slow to speak and quick to hear in order to avoid speaking out without knowledge.

As I contemplated this interaction, I know I myself have been guilty of this exact same thing. I have in the past laughed at or mocked someone on social media without hesitation, quickly, and with having very little knowledge of the situation, and I have joined in with others at various times when they have done the same. Much of that activity was sinful, evil, wicked before God, and I will give an account for those words and attitudes one day before my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a serious matter, something of which I am repentant of and am continuing to work on. Repentance requires that we often need to go deeper and examine what is wrong in us that we would so quickly and comfortably sin against God, that we would speak so quickly without knowledge?

When we examine sinful patterns in our lives and are trying to overcome them, one of the things we must do is recognize what we might think is true that is not true but rather drives us to that sin. The Bible constantly calls us to renew our mind, and therefore, the sin in our lives is a result of our minds not being renewed to God’s Word. If we are to overcome our sin, we must learn to think like God’s Word calls us to think, to not only obey God’s commands, but take on God’s character as well. We are to be conformed into the image of Christ, and that is not only an external transformation, this is an inward transformation at the mind and heart level. So, we must ask ourselves, what do we believe that has allowed us to sin in this manner without any conscience or guilt in the past, and what do we need to learn in order to live out the repentance that we desire? Here are a few answers that I have come up with.

1. The Right View Of Risk And Reward

There is very little risk in making fun of someone on social media, but there is often a form of reward we receive. When we deal with people face to face, saying certain things risks getting an undesirable reaction, such as a punch in the nose or causing someone to cry, and this is restraint on our behavior to sometimes keep us from saying things we ought not to say. On social media, however, the restraint is essentially non-existent. We can mock the toughest guy on the planet and he can do very little to respond to our mockery. We can laugh at another individual and not risk seeing them weep in pain from our hurtful behavior. In fact, at times we are rewarded for such behavior as those who are of likemind come along and affirm us with likes and affirming comments. For some, this reward is seen as an affirmation of who we are becuase we enjoy the likes and comments of others who agree. Renewing our minds to the fact that God both sees and cares about what we post on social media, however, will cause us to seek Christ’s affirmation, rather than affirmation from men. A question to ask ourselves is, would Jesus "like" this post?

2. They Are Made In God's Image

I believe we dehumanize people on social media very quickly. One danger that is known about pornography is it causes people to reduce others to pixels on a screen to be used for selfish purposes, and it trains the brain to begin to have difficulty sorting through the value of an individual person. I believe the exact same thing can be said about social media. We reduce them to words on a screen in a comment section, or to a caricature in our own minds having no idea who they really are in real life. We begin to believe these people are nothing but images on a screen rather than real people who are actually image bearers made in the likeness of our Father who is in heaven. We need renew our minds to the truth that we are dealing with real people who are made in God’s image. A question to ask ourselves is, am I thinking of this indivdual as one created in the image of God?

3. Righteousness Requires Righteous Means

We often deceive ourselves that our righteous fight against unrighteous justifies using unrighteous means. In other words, we think we can be sinful in responding to someone because they are supporting something that is sinful and we are battling against that wickedness. Now, let me be clear, I believe sometimes we as Christians mistake weakness for meekness, and there is a place for clarity and strong statements against evil, and even a place for laughing at the wicked. For a clear example of that, see Elijah at Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18, or spend some time reading the prophets in the Old Testament. We must, however, be extremely careful in this, and it ought not be the constant pattern in our lives to use mockery and sarcasm. We must not confuse our own pride to “own” someone with the desire to warn people of hypocrisy and foolishness. If this is a struggle in your life, I would recommend putting down the responses on social media altogether and learning to be more silent for a long season. We must renew our minds that the fight for righteousness requires us to use only righteous means. A question to ask ourselves is, forget how righteous the cause is, how righteous is this comment or post?

4. Discern Wisely When To Enter The Fray

We often believe we have some sort of mandate to speak out about everything. I do believe there is a time when we cannot be silent, but there are more times when it is perfectly acceptable to simply move past something that you do not like, that you disagree with, or that is unrighteous. There have been many times in the past when I have engaged in long conversations with someone who just refused to acquiesce to the truth of God’s Word, and I realized that I was simply casting those pearls in front of swine. I later wished I had never entered the conversation. We need to renew our minds that while truth is worth fighting for, we are not called to enter every arena we see. A question to ask ourselves is, before hitting the send or post button, is it really that important to engage on this issue with this particular individual?

Let me say, I still maintain that social media is a great tool for many things, but I would warn us that if it is causing us to dehumanize people, to speak too quickly, to practice wickedness, then we ought to rethink what use it is to us. I know a number of people who have no social media accounts, and their lives are wonderful without all the drama social media can bring. If it is causing you to stumble, perhaps think through some of the questions in this blog before you engage. Maybe you need to tune it out for a season,or consider even cutting it off and getting rid of it for good. Better to follow after Jesus faithfully without social media in your life than to be disobedient to Him.