I Presented a False Gospel on Facebook
Dear
Christian,
A few months ago I decided to take a break from Facebook. The first few days off Facebook were awesome. I had more time and less stress. I began to truly enjoy living life with my family instead of waiting for a photo op or quotable moment. However, the weeks that followed were surprisingly difficult. I found myself depressed and lonely. I once had hundreds of friends at my fingertip whom offered encouragement and prayer WHENEVER I needed it. Gone. The silence was deafening. I also felt incredibly guilty. Guilty?! Why? I feared that folks would think I no longer cared for them.
It has taken me several months to truly understand how dangerous (Facebook in particular) was to my soul and ministry to others. When my husband deactivated, I remembered feeling sad and even frustrated because I felt like he was choosing to not have a relationship with family & friends that we would otherwise never see. I have always thought that Facebook had many redeeming qualities. It helped me to stay in touch (and live life) with family and friends who do not live near us. It helped me to know how to pray for others, and it was also an excellent avenue of dispersing information and such. I have known folks to deactivate or take a break for various reasons: too much wasted time, approval addiction, seeking man’s applause and not God’s, vanity issues, etc. I probably struggled with each of those at some level, but my main struggles (that God really brought to light over the past 3 months) were different.
Allow me to unpack a few thoughts I have been sifting through over the weeks . . .
What other situation (outside of social media) gives you a microphone to spew your thoughts and unlimited selfies to the world? Social media allows others to take a seat OUTSIDE your home as you put on display every good or (perhaps) bad deed. We are given a huge photo book of your life, and 99.9% of that book is you. Would you ever invite someone into your home to only show them pictures of yourself and talk nonstop about everything you love and hate? Not to mention the fact that the only reel we mainly put on display are the glorious highlights. We rarely see the dark and ugly. We rarely see real life. We boast in our strengths and perfectly decorated lives. And, if we decide we don’t like you anymore we “defriend” you or (worse) we still give you a front row seat to the story of our life but you no longer have any say or voice. You can only sit and watch as we live our lives so wonderfully without you. We are the masters and creators of our domain.
Even Facebook (the company) knows its own dangers! Listen to this:
A few months ago I decided to take a break from Facebook. The first few days off Facebook were awesome. I had more time and less stress. I began to truly enjoy living life with my family instead of waiting for a photo op or quotable moment. However, the weeks that followed were surprisingly difficult. I found myself depressed and lonely. I once had hundreds of friends at my fingertip whom offered encouragement and prayer WHENEVER I needed it. Gone. The silence was deafening. I also felt incredibly guilty. Guilty?! Why? I feared that folks would think I no longer cared for them.
It has taken me several months to truly understand how dangerous (Facebook in particular) was to my soul and ministry to others. When my husband deactivated, I remembered feeling sad and even frustrated because I felt like he was choosing to not have a relationship with family & friends that we would otherwise never see. I have always thought that Facebook had many redeeming qualities. It helped me to stay in touch (and live life) with family and friends who do not live near us. It helped me to know how to pray for others, and it was also an excellent avenue of dispersing information and such. I have known folks to deactivate or take a break for various reasons: too much wasted time, approval addiction, seeking man’s applause and not God’s, vanity issues, etc. I probably struggled with each of those at some level, but my main struggles (that God really brought to light over the past 3 months) were different.
Allow me to unpack a few thoughts I have been sifting through over the weeks . . .
What other situation (outside of social media) gives you a microphone to spew your thoughts and unlimited selfies to the world? Social media allows others to take a seat OUTSIDE your home as you put on display every good or (perhaps) bad deed. We are given a huge photo book of your life, and 99.9% of that book is you. Would you ever invite someone into your home to only show them pictures of yourself and talk nonstop about everything you love and hate? Not to mention the fact that the only reel we mainly put on display are the glorious highlights. We rarely see the dark and ugly. We rarely see real life. We boast in our strengths and perfectly decorated lives. And, if we decide we don’t like you anymore we “defriend” you or (worse) we still give you a front row seat to the story of our life but you no longer have any say or voice. You can only sit and watch as we live our lives so wonderfully without you. We are the masters and creators of our domain.
Even Facebook (the company) knows its own dangers! Listen to this:
Facebook founders purposefully created something addictive, the social network's first president told Axios in an interview. “God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains,” Sean Parker. With each like and comment, Facebook is “exploiting” human psychology on purpose to keep users hooked on a “social-validation feedback loop,” Parker said. (Washington Post)
(Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook’s former vice president) “I feel tremendous guilt. I think we all knew in the back of our minds, even though we feigned this whole line of ‘there probably aren’t any really bad unintended consequences.’ I think in the deep recesses of our minds we kind of knew something bad could happen, but I think the ways we defined it were not like this. It literally is at a point now where I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. If you feed the beast, that beast will destroy you. (New York Post)
Those are NON CHRISTIAN responses to social media!
If there is anything I want to you remember and read it is the following (I have been extremely convicted about this) . . .
Beloved Christian, every “like” or comment on a photo or status update is a testimony and witness to Christ Jesus our Lord.
You remember that wedding photo you liked? It was a beautiful picture. A joyous occasion! Why not like that photo? Well, what you may not see is that couple left a spouse to pursue an adulterous relationship and high tailed it to Las Vegas to marry, perhaps even against the church’s approval. Your “like” may have communicated something FAR DIFFERENT to that couple. You see, that couple sees that their Christian friend (who dearly loves Jesus) approves of their marriage.
You remember your friend’s status update that talked about the love of their life? Perhaps they shared how they can’t live without the other and love conquers all! Today they are celebrating 5 years together! Did you know that they are secretively living together? Perhaps you, a church pastor, or a friend from a church they know “likes” the comment and suddenly this couple feels assured that their relationship is good and right. But Christian, we know that sex outside the context of marriage is sin.
Your friend is bragging about the fact that they just belittled their child in public. Though you know little about this “friend” you comment back with a similar story and laugh about the hardships of parenting. Your friend struggles with anger and has either physically or mentally abused their child on several occasions. They present half truths on social media. But your uninformed comments have now given this friend Christian approval and they feel rightly justified. Christian, uncontrollable anger has no place in the heart of a believer.
Your friend loves posting pictures of herself on social media. Goodness, I cannot even begin to count how many “You’re so gorgeous!” “What a babe!”, etc. that fills her comments. You decide to echo the same sentiment. What is the harm in praising another’s beauty? This friend struggles with self esteem. She constantly fills her updates with photos of herself because she is desperately empty and needs the approval of others. What does it convey when Christians marvel and praise outward beauty? Beauty is fading and our true beauty should be found in Jesus alone. Christian, “let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” (I Peter 3:4)
Your friend loves to go off on political, Christian, or ethical rants. If there is one thing you can count on from this friend, they are QUICK to speak! A Christian friend comments with similar rants – OR – criticism to the friend for posting the inflammatory comments. First, we should always be slow to anger. May it never be said of a Christ follower that they are consistently argumentative, rash, or overly critical. We have a saying in our house. “You must know what is TRUE before you know what is RIGHT.” Seek the truth of the situation to discern what is the right thing to do or say. Secondly, the Bible is very clear on how we should approach a brother in sin. We should go to them privately (that may mean face to face or perhaps even a well thought out, prayed over, letter). If they don’t listen you are to take one or two more people with you. If they still don’t listen (repent), you take it to the church. (Matthew 18:15-20) We love to argue and belittle one another on social media. What kind of love and light, dear Christian, are we displaying when we care more about being right than winning others to the love and mercy of Christ Jesus our Savior?
Your friend loves posting and reposting Bible verses and cute Jesus memes & photos. You “like” them and even repost it yourself. She often asks for prayers requests to which many respond with “prayers going up!” Did you know your friend hasn’t stepped foot in a church in over 20 years? Did you know that she has never opened her Bible (to truly read and discover the mysteries of Christ)? Did you know she doesn’t really know Jesus? She might KNOW of Him (“the demons also believe and shudder” James 2:19) but she has never repented from sin and walked in obedience. She knows all the key words (that Christians like to use) but her heart is hard and far from God. But your “likes” and “I am praying for you” never challenge her to examine her love for Jesus. Her need for prayer is really a need to GET OUT OF A BAD SITUATION (sickness, divorce, hurt, pain, rejection, etc.) She is an enemy of God, but we embrace her as a sister in the Lord. Yet, even as a “sister” we don’t love her enough to hold her accountable to the Gospel. Our Facebook gospel often ends at “God is love.” But there is far more to that redemption story!! Hallelujah! God is love, but God is also holy and hates sin. Scripture is very clear that we must flee from sin and walk in obedience. With repentance comes much hope! Then comes the abundance of God’s love! AMAZING! Christian, we cannot throw God out there as this unholy, father-Christmas entity that has nothing to say about sin.
If there is anything I want to you remember and read it is the following (I have been extremely convicted about this) . . .
Beloved Christian, every “like” or comment on a photo or status update is a testimony and witness to Christ Jesus our Lord.
You remember that wedding photo you liked? It was a beautiful picture. A joyous occasion! Why not like that photo? Well, what you may not see is that couple left a spouse to pursue an adulterous relationship and high tailed it to Las Vegas to marry, perhaps even against the church’s approval. Your “like” may have communicated something FAR DIFFERENT to that couple. You see, that couple sees that their Christian friend (who dearly loves Jesus) approves of their marriage.
You remember your friend’s status update that talked about the love of their life? Perhaps they shared how they can’t live without the other and love conquers all! Today they are celebrating 5 years together! Did you know that they are secretively living together? Perhaps you, a church pastor, or a friend from a church they know “likes” the comment and suddenly this couple feels assured that their relationship is good and right. But Christian, we know that sex outside the context of marriage is sin.
Your friend is bragging about the fact that they just belittled their child in public. Though you know little about this “friend” you comment back with a similar story and laugh about the hardships of parenting. Your friend struggles with anger and has either physically or mentally abused their child on several occasions. They present half truths on social media. But your uninformed comments have now given this friend Christian approval and they feel rightly justified. Christian, uncontrollable anger has no place in the heart of a believer.
Your friend loves posting pictures of herself on social media. Goodness, I cannot even begin to count how many “You’re so gorgeous!” “What a babe!”, etc. that fills her comments. You decide to echo the same sentiment. What is the harm in praising another’s beauty? This friend struggles with self esteem. She constantly fills her updates with photos of herself because she is desperately empty and needs the approval of others. What does it convey when Christians marvel and praise outward beauty? Beauty is fading and our true beauty should be found in Jesus alone. Christian, “let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” (I Peter 3:4)
Your friend loves to go off on political, Christian, or ethical rants. If there is one thing you can count on from this friend, they are QUICK to speak! A Christian friend comments with similar rants – OR – criticism to the friend for posting the inflammatory comments. First, we should always be slow to anger. May it never be said of a Christ follower that they are consistently argumentative, rash, or overly critical. We have a saying in our house. “You must know what is TRUE before you know what is RIGHT.” Seek the truth of the situation to discern what is the right thing to do or say. Secondly, the Bible is very clear on how we should approach a brother in sin. We should go to them privately (that may mean face to face or perhaps even a well thought out, prayed over, letter). If they don’t listen you are to take one or two more people with you. If they still don’t listen (repent), you take it to the church. (Matthew 18:15-20) We love to argue and belittle one another on social media. What kind of love and light, dear Christian, are we displaying when we care more about being right than winning others to the love and mercy of Christ Jesus our Savior?
Your friend loves posting and reposting Bible verses and cute Jesus memes & photos. You “like” them and even repost it yourself. She often asks for prayers requests to which many respond with “prayers going up!” Did you know your friend hasn’t stepped foot in a church in over 20 years? Did you know that she has never opened her Bible (to truly read and discover the mysteries of Christ)? Did you know she doesn’t really know Jesus? She might KNOW of Him (“the demons also believe and shudder” James 2:19) but she has never repented from sin and walked in obedience. She knows all the key words (that Christians like to use) but her heart is hard and far from God. But your “likes” and “I am praying for you” never challenge her to examine her love for Jesus. Her need for prayer is really a need to GET OUT OF A BAD SITUATION (sickness, divorce, hurt, pain, rejection, etc.) She is an enemy of God, but we embrace her as a sister in the Lord. Yet, even as a “sister” we don’t love her enough to hold her accountable to the Gospel. Our Facebook gospel often ends at “God is love.” But there is far more to that redemption story!! Hallelujah! God is love, but God is also holy and hates sin. Scripture is very clear that we must flee from sin and walk in obedience. With repentance comes much hope! Then comes the abundance of God’s love! AMAZING! Christian, we cannot throw God out there as this unholy, father-Christmas entity that has nothing to say about sin.
I believe every Christian needs to examine and ask themselves, “Why am I on social media?” Everyone of us may answer this question differently. I was on social media for years. I loved sharing our life with others. I loved keeping up with family that live far away. But is it good and wise to have 24 hour access to an idol that feeds pride, demands your opinion over love, and cultivates shallow relationships . . . all from the privacy and secrecy of our homes? Just look what has happened to our culture because of the 24 hour news cycle! There are many great reasons to be on social media. I am not saying that all social media is a sin. However, as with all good earthly things, there MUST be balance and accountability. We must examine (and then re-examine) every post and “like” you put out there. Remember, we “have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). Christian, Christ is living in you!
Jesus Himself, the King of Glory, came into this world to be born in a lowly manger. He came to serve, humbling Himself to death on a cross. (Philippians 2) There are those whom God calls out to carry the heavy burden and responsibility of proclaiming & teaching Jesus to the masses (great evangelists, Bible scholars, and prophets of old come to mind). Did you know that some of the strongest warnings in the Bible are directed towards leaders who mislead God’s people? Social media gives you a mic and puts you in a position that you seriously don’t need to be in. Are you ready to shoulder that burden? Do you understand that you will you be held responsible for misleading others? To most believers, God demands that we live simple, quiet lives – serving & loving, always ready to share the hope of our salvation to those around us - not the masses – but rather in our homes, our workplaces, our streets, and our little communities.
God’s people are characterized by perseverance, humility, obedience, truth, and love. We seek Jesus in all things. Let us not become “idle, going around from house to house, gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention” (I Timothy 5:13).
I presented a false gospel on Facebook. I cheapened it. I winked at sin and gave assurity of salvation to those who are perishing. I have extended worldly love and withheld truth & the love of Jesus. I proclaimed friendship with the world, all the while knowing that “friendship with the world is hostility toward God” (James 4:4). And worst of all, I have communicated that my life is all about ME – self.
Dear Christian, please prayerfully consider your activity or involvement with social media. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what is good and best as you desire to share Christ with those around you.
With deep love, sorrow, and humility,
amy
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