Redeeming Social Media: Putting On a Biblical Lens

Every time I substitute, it baffles me that not only do 6th graders own smart phones, but they are quick to pull out there phones to Snapchat during class. This tool has trickled down in society from adults (who sometimes aren’t mature with the use of such) to our little ones. It is infesting and affecting every generation and nation. Blindly and silently.

I’m not going to waste your time reminiscing about all of the times I have been at restaurants to discover every family at every table enticed by their phones. However, (and this is a big however), there is something to be said about the symptoms of a relentless social media goer. Comparison to others, pride in accomplishments and numbers, acceptance from others, time wasted, and lust, just to name a few. Within this article, I don’t want to just highlight the problem, I want to provide insight on how to redeem it.

I do want to start off by saying I have been that elementary school student who wanted to fit in with crowd and have a Myspace. Thankfully, my mother didn’t see fit for a ten year-old to manage one. Then middle school came and I had a bit more independence, so I created a Facebook. I honestly don’t even remember my exploration of it, which is probably a good thing. In high school came Instagram, and boy, what mockery I made of myself with that one. As a young introverted man, I wasn’t cool enough to post pictures with friends or at hyped events, but what I do remember I attempted to be cool at was selfies (said no one ever). That’s all I did and that’s all I knew how to do. My bio at one point literally said “selfies for life”. (I am a redeemed man now. Moving on.) I would check my notifications every minute just to see if anyone liked my photos. I would constantly compare myself to other people I knew just to see if I accomplished something in life. Little did I know, accomplishment meant so much more. Unfortunately, I am not the only one with a story like this. After becoming a Christian, I started realizing some things. I realized I am an introvert who doesn’t have anything interesting to say on Twitter nor do people care much about what I tweet anyways. I realized I don’t do anything consistently interesting to post photos on Instagram, and I definitely realized posting selfies for acceptance and attention heads down to a shallow grave. And if that wasn’t enough confirmation, I tried Snapchat out in college and realized yet again, having social media does not only pressure you into posting something for others to see, to earn acceptance and praise, but it demands too much of your time, leading into a life wasted and spiritually malnourished. However, I had an idea that turned out pretty successful. Successful for my soul.

I am not boasting in myself or saying I am the one doing it the right way and the only way, but I do want to offer what I have done that has made my life healthier and vibrant with the use social media, instead of the opposite, which tends to be the case. Also, if you are looking for this profound solution, don’t get your hopes up; it isn’t that profound. It is actually more simple and practical than you think.

After having deleted all social media accounts for a decent period in my life (which, by the way, to solve all your social media problems, be a rebel and delete them all) I had the idea to create a Twitter account, not so I can tweet or follow friends who do, but to follow pastors, Christian Artists, Christian blogs, and Christian websites. Yes, that is a lot “Christians”, but this is the exact point I am making in this entire blog. Instead of scrolling though Twitter and reading trivial thoughts by people, sometimes random people. Instead of scrolling through Instagram and looking, with glazed over eyes, at photos that will usually not edify your life and steward your time well. Instead of watching endless videos on Snapchat. You could invest that time into reading, seeing, watching the Word of God. Yes, I am mainly going to discuss Twitter, but some of these points bleed through other outlets. I first followed all of the pastors like Matt Chandler, David Platt, John Piper, Eric Mason, and many more, that have impacted my spiritual growth by reading all of their books and listening to all of their sermons. I then followed Christian artists who unashamedly hold fast to the word of God like Lecrae, Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, Austin Stone Worship, Jimmy Needham, and many more. I followed Christian websites that are filled with articles that are saturated with God’s truth like Desiring God, TheGospeCoalition, TheBlazingCenter, and many more. To no surprise, my feed was filled with quotes from God’s word, articles about God’s word, and discussions about God’s word. There was never a moment, and still never is a moment where I am wasting my time scrolling through tweets that don’t matter. Sure some of these people tweet other things sometimes, but it is mainly about scripture. There are many moments’ social issues and politics are brought up. These are opportunities for me to grow, learn, and understand these issues through a biblical worldview.

I do understand many people follow friends and family. I did not have this desire, since I would rather communicate and interact with them in person or on the phone, rather than on social media. I don’t care about what my friends or family tweet. This helps when it comes to my social media intake. This is possibly a hole in my logic. Some use social media to stay connected with friends and family. The pitfall is that your friends start becoming interestingly larger and the definition of “friend” starts to change. Now you have a problem on your hands and you have wasted many moments of life looking at what they posted, and sometimes being scarred at what they have revealed through social media.

I will also mention an argument I have heard from a fellow believer that went something along the lines of “I use social media to be a witness to others.” I still do not know where I land on this, but what I do know is if this is an excuse to hold to the same habits of comparing yourself to others and wasting precious time scrolling through your feed, then I am not sure if this is a good excuse. There are many more ways to witness to the unbelieving world than putting a bible verse in your bio. One way is by actually talking to other people in “real” life and in “real” conversations. Don’t let your spiritual and mental health be corrupted for the sake of “being a witness”. Is there some truth in this statement? Sure, but, what is the likelihood someone is going to come to faith by your tweets? Or your photos? I believe, wholeheartedly, that God can save in any way imaginable, but I do believe a more effective way is by getting to know someone on a more personal level than social media.

Another hole I have found in my approach is that Twitter is different from Snapchat and Instagram. They do not work the same. This means the same purpose I use Twitter for, doesn’t really work out the same way for other social media outlets. What should remain the same is: have wisdom in who you follow and don’t waste valuable time on it every day.

I do not want to be legalistic and say that if you follow unbelievers, you are not being wise or edified. I do not want to be legalistic and say that social media overall is a sin. I do want to say that our lives would be much healthier if we didn’t devote our days to it. I intentionally say “days” because it seems as if many, daily check their social media accounts. This is what many resort to when they are bored or use as an escape in awkward situations. As believers, we would be much more intelligent, healthier, and satisfied in Christ if we spent the same amount of time in God’s word, rather than social media. Are you brave enough to delete your account? Are you mature enough to intentionally take days, weeks, or even month breaks away from social media? Be a rebel to the world and a servant to Christ. Redeem Social Media. It starts with commitment and intentionality.

Pros and Cons of Social Media

Pros

• Witness to the unbelieving world (maybe)

• Keep in contact with friends and family

• Potential to follow believers whose posts are Bible centered and edifying

Cons

• Time wasted on trivial information

• False information (at times)

• Temptation to compare

• Falling into depression when life doesn’t match up to others

• Temptation to lust

• Search for empty acceptance

• Falling into a pit of pride with stats and ratings

• Fantasy life (posts/pictures are usually not reality)