Facebook Friends?
Social Media is such an integral part of many of our lives, some of us love it, some of us hate it, some of us wish we hated it enough to delete it off our smart phones…
Here’s a scary stat: We interact with our mobile devices 40 to 80 times a day. 91% of mobile Internet access is for social activities. 73% of smartphone owners access social networks through apps at least once per day. 50% of smart phones connect to Facebook every hour of every day.*
So how do we think wisely about all this time we spend on these sites? How do we use them in ways that are beneficial to our faith? How can we honour God in a virtual world? And how can we to guard our hearts from what can be an unhealthy relationship with these sites?
Disclaimer: I won’t cover all the issues in a short blog like this but I want to highlight a few things and point you in the direction of a few good resources.
Online Identity:
Ever spent ages looking for or trying to capture the perfect profile picture? With profiles being such a big part of many social media platforms, we can get really hung up about the image of ourselves we want to portray. What assumptions will people make about me from this picture? What assumptions do we jump to about others when we see their photos? How many likes will I get? How come she got more likes than me? We can be lured into thinking of our image in ways that are not at all biblical. Our value has NOTHING to do with our looks and is certainly not measured by numbers of likes. We are made in God’s image! It’s our association with Him as His children that makes us as LIKED and as LOVED as is possible. All of this is of course expressed in the saving work of Christ on the cross… let us never let go of that as we look at our online image!
Keeping up with the "Jones’"
When I moved into my new house I started getting into Pinterest. It was a great way to save ideas for how I might like to furnish the place… but soon I could see that all the stunning images of cosy cottages and grandiose gardens were making me really discontent with my lot and were tempting me to spend far more than I should in IKEA! Selfies and holiday snaps are another way that we can compare ourselves to others unhelpfully. They make us think that other people are living happier or more glamorous lives than they really are. A friend once posted photo after photo of her beautiful baby – motherhood looked idyllic. No tears, no sleepless nights, no sick! Of course her life wasn’t like that, and actually she had a horrendous time, but that’s not what it looked like online. We are saved to belong to a family, the body of Christ, to share the sorrows as well as the joys, and to spur each other on to Christlikeness. The only comparisons we should be making are to Him. Are we aiming to be more like Christ or more like someone we follow on social media?
Communication
So I’ve made social media out to sound REALLY unhelpful but, used right, it is a fantastic platform to connect with many people. So how do we make sure our connection honours God? I think we need to be ultra-conscious about those who are reading the post. Will believers be encouraged by what I am writing/ sharing? Will not yet believers be caused to think more or less of God and his people? I have found articles shared, or photos of God’s stunning creation, or posts about God’s work in people’s lives to be massively encouraging and edifying. I have also seen social media being used as a great tool in evangelism. Used well, social media can glorify God massively.
There’s lots more on this on the Gospel Coalition Website:
But all this said, let’s remember that no online communication is anywhere near as meaningful as getting together with a friend in person. How can we really share life in 140 characters or through status updates and photos?
Time
Lastly, it’s always worth thinking through how much time does something take up in my life… and if you are struggling with time to pray or time to read your bible then let me suggest you don’t have time for social media!! John Piper, I think, once said something like “Facebook was invented to show us we do have time for a quiet time”
Ephesians 5:15-17 says “So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Lets pray for one another and encourage each other that we might honour God in our use or social media, putting our relationship with God first and valuing His word above seek any online connection.
Other good resources for thinking through how we think in a godly way about social media can be found here:
Search The Gospel Coalition Blogs
Rachel Sloan, Women’s Ministry Coordinator at Charlotte Chapel did a talk on this which can be found on her blog:
