Christians have the responsibility of stewarding their time, minds and decisions in this world. I am not going to say that social media is evil but there are definitely many evil things in social media that we Christians must be careful with. The Bible states that God is so faithful and helpful that he will provide a way of escape to us all from the temptations that we will encounter in this evil Fallen World (1 Corinthians 10:13). We have the responsibility to take that way of escape from those temptations and practice righteousness instead of sin. I want to give you our take on how to handle social media as a Christian so that you can grow in Christ to the best of your ability while still being involved in things socially such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms like those.
In today’s world, it is almost impossible to know somebody, do something, or go somewhere without social media being a part of it all. Businesses, ministries, charities, destinations, foods, models, artists, and almost anything and anyone else that you can think of can be found on social media today. It is no surprise that people everywhere, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or background are joining the social media world. Christians are no exception in this matter, we are adjusting to the times by becoming part of certain trends, such as social media. However, it is hard to ignore the fact that a lot of people have made social media their top priority and form of entertainment. Something that started as a way to connect with friends, family and classmates has become the way to socialize indeed. I have been led to talk to you guys about the things to watch out for when being involved in social media as a Christian.
I would advise you to ask yourself a question right now as you are reading this; are you stuck in the social media culture or are you using it as a form to influence others and stay in touch with people you care about instead? There are so many people that I know that are stuck inside of the social media culture. The social media culture is a culture of appearance, image, vanity, first impressions, networking, ministering, uplifting others, ranting, venting, complaining, parading yourself and other positive and negative things. Whether you are using social media for fleshy or spiritual reasons, you can still get stuck in it somehow.
If you are like me, you have been using social media for the purpose of ministry. However, does every Christian use social media for ministry or for glorifying God? That is what we’re going to be talking about today because I don’t believe that social media is either good for everybody or bad for everybody. I would say that it depends on how you are using it and mainly on how it is using you! I think we need to talk about the pros and cons of these platforms and how you can use them in a way that does not negatively affect your relationship with God. If you are like most people on social media you don’t only post pictures of yourself or of things that you are interested in, but you also follow other pages and see what they post and what they are interested in.
Why should Christians be careful on social media?
One of the dangers of being on social media as a Christian is seeing pictures or words that will influence you to think like the old you and like the world. There are pictures and quotes that God would not want like you to look at and think about at the time of seeing them or later on that day when you remember them. When it comes to Christian men on social media, we must be very careful about following the pages that share pictures of women dressed provocatively and sexually. In the same way, women should also be careful about following pages that promote men’s bodies or sexual things that they ought not to be thinking about, whether single or married. It is no secret how powerful and sensitive our mind can be. Because of this, we must be very careful about the things that we allow our ears to hear and our eyes to see. The Bible says in Romans 12:2 that we are to renew our minds. If you want to read our blog regarding the importance of growing in Christ and the renewing of the mind click here !
I have made it a point to not follow any page that promotes any type of lustful and sexual content regardless of what kind of page it is. There are many Christians who follow pages that are titled “fitness pages”, “healthy food pages” or “vacation destination pages”. However, many of these pages are full of half-naked men and women posing for the camera in order to get likes and traffic from those who allow themselves to be driven by the lust of their flesh. Regardless of what the page may be masquerading itself as, if it has any content that may provoke you or tempt you to think or do something that is of disobedience to God’s word, then you should definitely unfollow those pages. This is a good start at avoiding the dangers of social media as a Christian. We must remember that just because most people are doing something, it doesn’t mean that we should also be doing it. We must remember that just because some Christians are doing or promoting some things, it doesn’t mean that we should also do them if we know that they do not please God. We should always remember that God will judge us individually for our own works and decisions, regardless of who looks like they may be getting away with things. The truth is that God will judge everybody and it is important that we keep a pure heart before Him until we enter His kingdom one day.
Why should Christians be careful on social media?
You might think that the only thing we need to be careful with on social media is following those pages that share the lustful, hateful, racist, insensitive and godless type of content. However, there are several types of pages, even Christian ones that we ought to be careful with. There are a lot of people, businesses, ministries and organizations that are confessors of God, but may be promoting the wrong ideas and doctrine on social media. We must be aware of the people who attempt to bait us into debates and quarrels. We must watch out for those who work hard at provoking people to anger through arguments and indifferences. Along with pages that have plain out false Doctrine all over them, there are also pages from people who may believe the same things that we believe but are always out looking for an argument and looking to tear others down even through Christian lingo and terminology. We must judge people on social media by their fruit and stay away from those pages that influence us to walk in ways that may look religious and nice on the outside but are full of pride, anger, racism, and a lack of love on the inside. We should follow pages that promote the love, mercy, justice, truth, and wisdom of God.
Unfollowing the pages that influence you negatively is a must if you want to continue growing in Christ as a believer. I know that we all want to be liked by people or want to be nice to people and support their pages, especially if they call themselves believers or ministers. But, in reality, we must always put our growth and relationship with God before any type of support or tolerance for something that may be displeasing to God. So, let’s say that we unfollow all of the pages that share lustful images and words and also the pages that try to entice us to argue and fight with others over doctrine, politics, race and things like that. There is still another danger of being on social media as a Christian.
Why should Christians be careful on social media?
This danger is the misuse of our time that we could be spending knowing God, knowing His word, living out our new identity in Christ and evangelizing to the world. We must remember that we have the responsibility of stewarding our time, and it is no secret that just like unbelievers, we Christians can spend literal hours of our day on social media scrolling, commenting and posting things that will be forgotten in hours. Having social media can be a good thing, and if we use it properly, it can have no negativity to it. However, if we are looking at Christian pictures, Christian quotes and scriptures all day long but are not actually spending our time with God, our loved ones, and those who need salvation, then social media can become dangerous. Let’s remember that there is still a real world out here, and real people that need the Christ in us! Let’s also remember that spending time reading about God is not the same thing as spending time with God. Even if you are following preachers and ministries that post their sermons on social media, remember that listening to sermons about God is not the same as you reading His word for yourself. So, let’s get serious about our relationship with God by being careful with how we use social media. I hope that this helps you and that you take your growth to the next level by remembering these precautions.
Bless you guys!
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