February 11, 2025 • 22 mins
What if your social media habits could align more closely with your spiritual journey? Discover how to navigate the digital world through a biblical lens in our latest Pleasing God podcast episode. I'm your host, Jonathan Sole, and today, we explore the profound impact of words and the importance of guarding our hearts as we engage online. This episode delves into practical resolutions for avoiding late-night emotional posts and using platforms to spread positivity and godliness. Drawing inspiration from Ephesians 4:29 and Proverbs 4:23, we reflect on how thoughtful engagement can promote spiritual well-being and resonate with Christian values.
We also tackle the precarious balance between nurturing real-world relationships and maintaining an online presence. From avoiding pride and self-promotion to overcoming the pitfalls of comparison and envy, I offer insights on ensuring your digital interactions reflect maturity and kindness. Emphasizing the wisdom of practicing a digital Sabbath and being cautious of harmful content, we encourage you to let biblical principles guide your online activities. Join this enriching conversation and reflect on how modern technology can harmonize with timeless spiritual truths.
Stock Music provided by wolfgangwoehrle, from Pond5
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a
show focused on helpingChristians to think biblically,
engage practically and livefaithfully for the glory of God.
I'm your host, jonathan Soule,and on this episode I want to
talk about the Christian andsocial media.
(00:24):
Really, what's a biblicalapproach to how we engage on the
various platforms that we use,whether it be X or Facebook,
instagram and so forth?
And I want us to think throughbiblical principles for using
(00:45):
social media and then addresssome common pitfalls that
Christians can face on socialmedia and then just look at
practical ways that we can honorChrist through our online
presence.
I know that some years ago Ikind of set up my own
resolutions for the use ofsocial media, and I was just
(01:09):
looking around and it started toseem like it was getting rather
nasty, even among professedbelievers, and arguments online
that no one wins but everyonereads and just some nasty
rhetoric.
And so I kind of created my ownset of resolutions for how I
(01:32):
would engage with social mediaand online presence, and one of
them was that I resolved neverto post anything overly
emotional.
If I had, my emotions weregoing for some reason whether I
was sad, maybe even overlyelated, upset.
But at that point, when myfeelings are really kind of seem
(01:56):
to be in control, that's not agood time to post anything on
any platform, and so I resolvenever to post emotionally or if
I was just unsettled.
I also resolved never to postlater on into the evening.
And this is just again a matterof wisdom and prudence for my
(02:18):
own life.
But my sharpest and mostfocused times it begins in the
morning and throughout the dayas output and just using my mind
whether writing, reading,engaging with people I tend to
just start to feel more tired,naturally, as the day goes on on
(02:47):
, and I just realized that lateron in the evening it's not a
time to really start posting orengaging with comments or
content on social media.
So I just tend to principallyrefuse.
I don't always hold by that,but as a rule for my life,
that's something that I like todo of my life.
That's something that I like todo.
And then the third thing is justbeing winsome about what I say
(03:09):
and what my, what onlinepresence is about, because we
all have, we all will develop,an online reputation of you know
the kind of stuff we post, thekind of stuff we retweet or
share or like, and that beginsto kind of create our own online
profile.
(03:30):
And so one of my resolves wasthat I would use the platform
and I'm going to talk about thisin a little bit but use the
platform or the handle topromote goodness and not to have
my whether it be Facebook orInstagram X be a lightning rod
(03:54):
for always going after the nextculturally relevant issue that's
going on in Christianity oroverly getting overly political
on, as everyone does aroundelection times or whatever it
might be.
I wanted to use my presence topromote goodness and godliness.
So those are just kind of mythree resolutions not to be
(04:18):
emotional, not to post late atnight and to use my platform to
use that position to promotegodliness, goodness, maybe
thought-provoking posts andthings of that nature.
And so, even before we talkabout some of the biblical
principles, I would justencourage you if you have an
online presence or you use that,how are you using that, and do
(04:42):
you have your own rules orresolutions?
If you don't, I would encourageyou to sit down and just think
carefully about what you do anddon't do online and how that can
be a reflection of what youvalue.
I think it'd be a good thingand it's just again worth
thinking carefully about.
But let's talk about biblicalprinciples for the use of social
(05:06):
media and I want to first statethe obvious.
Words matter, whether they'respoken or whether they're typed
or posted or reposted.
Our words matter and we shouldnot take that for granted,
because once we post, I mean itgoes out.
We can maybe delete it, butwe're putting ourselves out
(05:29):
there and we're puttingourselves behind the thing that
we say or the person that wefollow and so forth.
So be mindful that words matterand Paul tells the Ephesians in
chapter 4, verse 29, let nocorrupting talk come out of your
mouths, but only such as isgood for building up, as it fits
(05:51):
the occasion, that it may givegrace to those who hear.
It's a wonderful verse and areflection on how we should
think about our use of socialmedia the power of our words to
build up or to tear down.
And when we apply this, how dowe engage with disagreements
online?
Are we responding with wisdomand kindness?
(06:12):
Are we in violation ofEphesians 4.29?
Another, when you think ofbiblical principles, remember we
are to guard our hearts and ourminds.
There are many things on socialmedia that a Christian should
not view, that should not comeacross their reels, whatever it
(06:34):
might be, and there are dangersand there are pitfalls
throughout.
And so when we think about how,in the biblical principles, we
need to be careful about whatour eyes see and what we engage
with through Facebook, instagram, x and so forth.
Proverbs, chapter 4, verse 23,.
Keep your heart with allvigilance, for from it flow the
(06:58):
springs of life.
This means avoid content thatmight lead you into temptation.
Avoid situations that mightfuel comparing yourself, looking
at the lives of other peoplethat might foster envy.
No, guard your heart and yourmind.
If you know you're weak in acertain area, you don't want to
(07:22):
fuel that through your socialmedia.
Set boundaries in your own lifethat will help protect and
guard your spiritual health anddon't let social media become a
point of stumbling and sin.
And don't let social mediabecome a point of stumbling and
sin.
Third biblical principle isstewardship of time, and I will
say I have been convicted bythis and I am often convicted by
(07:44):
this how much time is wastedscrolling or looking through
social media or just kind ofhaving your face in your phone
at times when you should bedoing other things?
Again, to the Ephesians, paulsays look carefully, then, how
you walk, not as unwise, but aswise.
(08:04):
And what does that look like?
A careful walk as a wise person?
He says in chapter 5, verse 16,making the best use of the time
, because the days are evil.
I think we have a setting onour phones that can show us the
amount of screen time that weuse on a weekly basis, and then
(08:24):
it'll break it down even to whatthe apps that were open are.
You ought to look that up onyour phone and see what your
screen time's looking like.
And where are you spending yourtime when you are on the screen
, what are you looking for?
And so, again, how are we usingour time?
How much time are we spendingin social media relationships
(08:46):
versus real world relationships?
That's a big deal to bethinking about.
And, again, make the best useof your time.
If we're not investing in thepeople that are closest to us
our families, our churchcommunity, fellow brothers and
sisters that we are actuallyseeing in the flesh but we're
spending more time engagingothers online that we don't see,
(09:08):
we've got something out ofbalance and we need to think
about how we can steward ourtime better.
So, again, these are just somepractical tips that we should
think about in using socialmedia without it becoming a
distraction in our life and fromour faith.
And so, as we think throughthese biblical principles,
remember words matter, guardyour heart and mind, steward
(09:30):
your time the Bible speaks tothis.
And then how we are to do thesethings.
Well then, what are some commonpitfalls that we see?
What are some things that maybe, as you're listening to this,
you can say, hey, I can relateto some of these that Christians
face on social media.
Well, I think the first one thatwe can certainly all somewhere
(09:53):
agree with is pride and evenself-promotion.
There's a temptation, if we'reactive on social media, to seek
validation through the amount oflikes, shares and followers
that we have.
It's this idea that the biggerthe platform, the more value and
validated that I am, and I justwant to caution against that.
(10:17):
It can become a dangerouspitfall and it also can become
addicting.
You get a post that might gosemi-viral for whatever you're
following or who watches and isa part of your social media
platform, and that ranges againdepending on the size, but you
(10:40):
want to kind of like, keep upthe momentum.
So now it's like well, Ipromoted myself on this one.
I had a really good tweet here,or I you know this.
This post got shared so manytimes on Facebook.
Lots of people liked myInstagram picture about this.
You want to kind of keep thatup and you think that as you
keep that up, there's validationhere.
(11:00):
That's a temptation to guardagainst, because it can become a
distraction and then it alsocan become an obsession.
Same with, again,self-promotion.
It's a challenging thing to doand to understand how we are not
to show conceit but todemonstrate humility, even in
(11:22):
our social media.
Philippians, chapter two, versethree, we read do nothing from
selfish ambition or conceit, butin humility count others more
significant than yourselves.
And so here's a pitfall thatpride and self-promotion can
tend to overtake a Christian inthe use of social media.
(11:42):
Be careful, be mindful of thispitfall, because it can become a
danger zone.
Here's a second pitfallengaging in online arguments.
Engaging in online arguments Ican admit that I've done it and
it is foolish.
(12:03):
It does no good.
There's not many people thatwant to reason through their
computer screen, but there aremany people that want to
convince you that their positionis correct or their views are
right on their computer screen,and I've not seen many arguments
(12:25):
won, but I've seen two sideslose in online arguments because
what they reveal is ignoranceand immaturity.
And this goes in directcontrast to how the apostle Paul
instructs Timothy to behave asa man of God.
To a young pastor, he says tohim have nothing to do.
This is in 2 Timothy 2,.
Have nothing to do withfoolishness, ignorant
(12:48):
controversies.
You know that they breedquarrel and the Lord's servant
must not be quarrelsome but kindto everyone, able to teach,
patiently, enduring evil, and sothis takes discernment.
You don't have to engage inevery online argument.
You don't necessarily have toengage in any real online
(13:10):
arguments, but if you do and youfeel like you need to, because
it's actually personal and itinvolves something in your
community and not, you know,engaging with an argument from
some guy overseas or across thecountry, that again does no good
.
Know when to engage there's atime to speak and there's a time
(13:35):
to stay silent and know whenit's time to pray, and that's
oftentimes a challenge that wecan have.
We want to respond to this postor this person.
It seems to be speaking about atheological position that's
different than mine, or whateverit might be, and I just want to
correct that person.
Listen, you don't have to bethat person, and let me also
(14:00):
give you a word of encouragement, or maybe exhortation.
There are many other peoplethat read your online arguments
never give an impression on that, but they're reading it and
it's causing them to formopinions and conclusions about
you and your maturity.
So, again, when it comes toonline arguments and division,
(14:22):
you're not accomplishinganything of significance for the
kingdom when Christians arejust fighting with each other
online or when you try to engagethe atheist to convert him to
Christianity through theFacebook comments.
Another one is comparison andenvy, and this is just again.
(14:43):
I had alluded to it earlier,but this can be a pitfall when
we look at what other peoplehave online.
We look at their Instagramlives and we think everything's
perfect.
Pictures don't tell stories.
They just portray what we wantthem to portray.
And just remember that nobody'slife is better or more perfect
than what you see online, and soit just.
(15:06):
There can be a false sense ofwhere somebody is at, and then
you want to compare yourself tothat person.
It's challenging, and if you'resomebody who's got a platform,
be mindful that you're nottrying to portray something that
you're not Portraying this kindof perfect life and a life
(15:27):
without struggle and a lifewithout challenges.
And you don't have your baddays too.
We all do.
So we need to be mindful aboutwhat we project of ourselves and
how we compare ourselves withothers.
Online, the internet, socialmedia, can be a source of
discontentment, but we need tolearn that our contentment is in
Christ rather than our socialstatus or what we see in others,
(15:49):
and that will help guard us.
And a fourth pitfall that Ithink is common to all of us is
consuming harmful or evenmisleading content.
We need to be mindful of whatwe put in.
There was an old oh man.
When I was growing up, myparents introduced me to these
(16:10):
old VHS movies McGee and Me, meand I remember in one of those
videos um, I don't remember thecharacter's names, but the
statement was I think the sonwanted to go to see a scary
movie, a bad movie, and thefather was telling him now you
can't go, you don't want to goto that, it's not good for you.
(16:31):
And he sneaks out and he goesand sees the movie and he comes
home and there's like confessionabout it.
It's a little blurry for me toremember, but again the dad says
garbage in, garbage out, andthe principle that he's saying
there is what you put in to you,what you deposit in you, is
what will come out of you.
(16:52):
And so what kind of content arewe consuming through social
media?
What is our level ofdiscernment?
Paul says in Colossians 2, seethat no one takes you captive by
philosophy and empty to seeaccording to human tradition,
according to the elementalspirits of the world and not
according to Christ.
What is guiding us?
What are we reading, watchingand sharing?
(17:15):
And also, but what's harmful,is our social media used for
good or for gossip, forstrengthening or for slander?
Let's not consume, be mindfulof not consuming harmful content
or misleading content.
And so much gets posted that'sunverified information.
Before you share that pictureor that scale or that chart,
(17:40):
maybe do a little bit ofhomework.
There's a lot of misinformationthat gets shared through
Facebook, instagram and so forth, and it's foolishness.
And so don't believe everythingthat's on the internet because
it's on the internet, and verifyinformation before you share it
.
These are common pitfalls thatChristians face on social media.
(18:01):
So then, what are somepractical ways that we can use
our social media to honor Christ?
And let me just give you acouple in addition to my own
resolutions.
First, use your platform forgood.
This is similar to what I wassaying.
Do you share scripture on yourplatform?
(18:23):
Is it a place of encouragement?
Jesus tells his followers inMatthew 5, verse 14, you are the
light of the world.
His city, set on a hill, cannotbe hidden Again.
In verse 16, he says let yourlight shine before others that
they may see your good works andgive glory to your Father who
is in heaven.
We can, as faithful followersof Jesus, be the light of the
(18:49):
world through social media.
We can let our light shinebefore others that they might
see the goodness of our platform, the goodness of our Twitter
handle or X handle, the goodnessof what we post, and it points
to the glory of God.
So use your platform for good.
(19:10):
Let me give you another one thatwe can honor Christ with social
media.
Practice a digital Sabbath andself-control.
This means, instead of thepitfall of mismanaging our time,
we could manage our time well.
So set limits on screen timeMaybe.
Design certain times in yourday that you know are what we
(19:32):
would call tech-free times timesfor prayer, reading,
relationships and away fromsocial media.
Here's another practical way wecan honor Christ on social
media is follow accounts thatencourage spiritual growth, that
encourage spiritual growth.
(19:52):
What's your newsfeed look like?
Is it a place where you can goto and you receive encouragement
?
You're seeing biblically soundcontent, so be intentional about
who and what influences you.
You can choose to follow andyou can choose to unfollow, and
(20:12):
maybe there are times that weneed to do a little bit of both.
And here's a final practicalway that we can honor Christ on
social media Engage with wisdomand kindness.
Before any post, ask theultimate question does this
glorify God?
Does this glorify God?
And if the answer is I don'tknow or no, let that be the
(20:36):
guide for how you post and howyou engage on social media.
Jesus says to his disciples inthe Gospel of John, chapter 13,
verse 35,.
He says by this, all peoplewill know that you are my
disciples if you have love forone another.
I would love to see more andmore Christians live this out on
(21:00):
social media, being known forlove rather than for controversy
.
Again, the controversies that goon.
They're always stalemates andeveryone loses.
There's never a winner, becausewhat it took to maybe win the
argument, you lost the personand you gave opportunity to
(21:22):
opposition outside ofChristianity to look and say
look how they treat one another.
They're not going to say thoseare disciples of Jesus.
Or if they say that's thedisciples of Jesus, I don't want
anything to do with that.
What's compelling about thatcommunity of people?
So, again, use your platform forgood.
Practice digital Sabbathself-control.
(21:42):
Follow accounts that encouragespiritual growth.
Engage with wisdom and kindnessso, as we reflect, to live
faithfully.
How is your social media useshaping your walk with Christ?
Is it drawing you closer to him?
Is it a distraction?
Think about intentional stepsthat you can do to align your
(22:06):
use of social media withbiblical values.
Let me remind you of Paul'swords to the Philippians.
He says let's use that as weengage with fellow brothers and
(22:31):
sisters and others on our socialmedia.
I want to thank you forlistening to the Pleasing God
podcast.
If you have any questions, Iwould love to hear from you.
You can reach out at questionsat pleasinggodpodcastorg, and
remember 1 Thessalonians 4.3,.
This is the will of God, yoursanctification.
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a
show focused on helpingChristians to think biblically,
engage practically and livefaithfully for the glory of God.
I'm your host, jonathan Soule,and on this episode I want to
talk about the Christian andsocial media.
(00:24):
Really, what's a biblicalapproach to how we engage on the
various platforms that we use,whether it be X or Facebook,
instagram and so forth?
And I want us to think throughbiblical principles for using
(00:45):
social media and then addresssome common pitfalls that
Christians can face on socialmedia and then just look at
practical ways that we can honorChrist through our online
presence.
I know that some years ago Ikind of set up my own
resolutions for the use ofsocial media, and I was just
(01:09):
looking around and it started toseem like it was getting rather
nasty, even among professedbelievers, and arguments online
that no one wins but everyonereads and just some nasty
rhetoric.
And so I kind of created my ownset of resolutions for how I
(01:32):
would engage with social mediaand online presence, and one of
them was that I resolved neverto post anything overly
emotional.
If I had, my emotions weregoing for some reason whether I
was sad, maybe even overlyelated, upset.
But at that point, when myfeelings are really kind of seem
(01:56):
to be in control, that's not agood time to post anything on
any platform, and so I resolvenever to post emotionally or if
I was just unsettled.
I also resolved never to postlater on into the evening.
And this is just again a matterof wisdom and prudence for my
(02:18):
own life.
But my sharpest and mostfocused times it begins in the
morning and throughout the dayas output and just using my mind
whether writing, reading,engaging with people I tend to
just start to feel more tired,naturally, as the day goes on on
(02:47):
, and I just realized that lateron in the evening it's not a
time to really start posting orengaging with comments or
content on social media.
So I just tend to principallyrefuse.
I don't always hold by that,but as a rule for my life,
that's something that I like todo of my life.
That's something that I like todo.
And then the third thing is justbeing winsome about what I say
(03:09):
and what my, what onlinepresence is about, because we
all have, we all will develop,an online reputation of you know
the kind of stuff we post, thekind of stuff we retweet or
share or like, and that beginsto kind of create our own online
profile.
(03:30):
And so one of my resolves wasthat I would use the platform
and I'm going to talk about thisin a little bit but use the
platform or the handle topromote goodness and not to have
my whether it be Facebook orInstagram X be a lightning rod
(03:54):
for always going after the nextculturally relevant issue that's
going on in Christianity oroverly getting overly political
on, as everyone does aroundelection times or whatever it
might be.
I wanted to use my presence topromote goodness and godliness.
So those are just kind of mythree resolutions not to be
(04:18):
emotional, not to post late atnight and to use my platform to
use that position to promotegodliness, goodness, maybe
thought-provoking posts andthings of that nature.
And so, even before we talkabout some of the biblical
principles, I would justencourage you if you have an
online presence or you use that,how are you using that, and do
(04:42):
you have your own rules orresolutions?
If you don't, I would encourageyou to sit down and just think
carefully about what you do anddon't do online and how that can
be a reflection of what youvalue.
I think it'd be a good thingand it's just again worth
thinking carefully about.
But let's talk about biblicalprinciples for the use of social
(05:06):
media and I want to first statethe obvious.
Words matter, whether they'respoken or whether they're typed
or posted or reposted.
Our words matter and we shouldnot take that for granted,
because once we post, I mean itgoes out.
We can maybe delete it, butwe're putting ourselves out
(05:29):
there and we're puttingourselves behind the thing that
we say or the person that wefollow and so forth.
So be mindful that words matterand Paul tells the Ephesians in
chapter 4, verse 29, let nocorrupting talk come out of your
mouths, but only such as isgood for building up, as it fits
(05:51):
the occasion, that it may givegrace to those who hear.
It's a wonderful verse and areflection on how we should
think about our use of socialmedia the power of our words to
build up or to tear down.
And when we apply this, how dowe engage with disagreements
online?
Are we responding with wisdomand kindness?
(06:12):
Are we in violation ofEphesians 4.29?
Another, when you think ofbiblical principles, remember we
are to guard our hearts and ourminds.
There are many things on socialmedia that a Christian should
not view, that should not comeacross their reels, whatever it
(06:34):
might be, and there are dangersand there are pitfalls
throughout.
And so when we think about how,in the biblical principles, we
need to be careful about whatour eyes see and what we engage
with through Facebook, instagram, x and so forth.
Proverbs, chapter 4, verse 23,.
Keep your heart with allvigilance, for from it flow the
(06:58):
springs of life.
This means avoid content thatmight lead you into temptation.
Avoid situations that mightfuel comparing yourself, looking
at the lives of other peoplethat might foster envy.
No, guard your heart and yourmind.
If you know you're weak in acertain area, you don't want to
(07:22):
fuel that through your socialmedia.
Set boundaries in your own lifethat will help protect and
guard your spiritual health anddon't let social media become a
point of stumbling and sin.
And don't let social mediabecome a point of stumbling and
sin.
Third biblical principle isstewardship of time, and I will
say I have been convicted bythis and I am often convicted by
(07:44):
this how much time is wastedscrolling or looking through
social media or just kind ofhaving your face in your phone
at times when you should bedoing other things?
Again, to the Ephesians, paulsays look carefully, then, how
you walk, not as unwise, but aswise.
(08:04):
And what does that look like?
A careful walk as a wise person?
He says in chapter 5, verse 16,making the best use of the time
, because the days are evil.
I think we have a setting onour phones that can show us the
amount of screen time that weuse on a weekly basis, and then
(08:24):
it'll break it down even to whatthe apps that were open are.
You ought to look that up onyour phone and see what your
screen time's looking like.
And where are you spending yourtime when you are on the screen
, what are you looking for?
And so, again, how are we usingour time?
How much time are we spendingin social media relationships
(08:46):
versus real world relationships?
That's a big deal to bethinking about.
And, again, make the best useof your time.
If we're not investing in thepeople that are closest to us
our families, our churchcommunity, fellow brothers and
sisters that we are actuallyseeing in the flesh but we're
spending more time engagingothers online that we don't see,
(09:08):
we've got something out ofbalance and we need to think
about how we can steward ourtime better.
So, again, these are just somepractical tips that we should
think about in using socialmedia without it becoming a
distraction in our life and fromour faith.
And so, as we think throughthese biblical principles,
remember words matter, guardyour heart and mind, steward
(09:30):
your time the Bible speaks tothis.
And then how we are to do thesethings.
Well then, what are some commonpitfalls that we see?
What are some things that maybe, as you're listening to this,
you can say, hey, I can relateto some of these that Christians
face on social media.
Well, I think the first one thatwe can certainly all somewhere
(09:53):
agree with is pride and evenself-promotion.
There's a temptation, if we'reactive on social media, to seek
validation through the amount oflikes, shares and followers
that we have.
It's this idea that the biggerthe platform, the more value and
validated that I am, and I justwant to caution against that.
(10:17):
It can become a dangerouspitfall and it also can become
addicting.
You get a post that might gosemi-viral for whatever you're
following or who watches and isa part of your social media
platform, and that ranges againdepending on the size, but you
(10:40):
want to kind of like, keep upthe momentum.
So now it's like well, Ipromoted myself on this one.
I had a really good tweet here,or I you know this.
This post got shared so manytimes on Facebook.
Lots of people liked myInstagram picture about this.
You want to kind of keep thatup and you think that as you
keep that up, there's validationhere.
(11:00):
That's a temptation to guardagainst, because it can become a
distraction and then it alsocan become an obsession.
Same with, again,self-promotion.
It's a challenging thing to doand to understand how we are not
to show conceit but todemonstrate humility, even in
(11:22):
our social media.
Philippians, chapter two, versethree, we read do nothing from
selfish ambition or conceit, butin humility count others more
significant than yourselves.
And so here's a pitfall thatpride and self-promotion can
tend to overtake a Christian inthe use of social media.
(11:42):
Be careful, be mindful of thispitfall, because it can become a
danger zone.
Here's a second pitfallengaging in online arguments.
Engaging in online arguments Ican admit that I've done it and
it is foolish.
(12:03):
It does no good.
There's not many people thatwant to reason through their
computer screen, but there aremany people that want to
convince you that their positionis correct or their views are
right on their computer screen,and I've not seen many arguments
(12:25):
won, but I've seen two sideslose in online arguments because
what they reveal is ignoranceand immaturity.
And this goes in directcontrast to how the apostle Paul
instructs Timothy to behave asa man of God.
To a young pastor, he says tohim have nothing to do.
This is in 2 Timothy 2,.
Have nothing to do withfoolishness, ignorant
(12:48):
controversies.
You know that they breedquarrel and the Lord's servant
must not be quarrelsome but kindto everyone, able to teach,
patiently, enduring evil, and sothis takes discernment.
You don't have to engage inevery online argument.
You don't necessarily have toengage in any real online
(13:10):
arguments, but if you do and youfeel like you need to, because
it's actually personal and itinvolves something in your
community and not, you know,engaging with an argument from
some guy overseas or across thecountry, that again does no good
.
Know when to engage there's atime to speak and there's a time
(13:35):
to stay silent and know whenit's time to pray, and that's
oftentimes a challenge that wecan have.
We want to respond to this postor this person.
It seems to be speaking about atheological position that's
different than mine, or whateverit might be, and I just want to
correct that person.
Listen, you don't have to bethat person, and let me also
(14:00):
give you a word of encouragement, or maybe exhortation.
There are many other peoplethat read your online arguments
never give an impression on that, but they're reading it and
it's causing them to formopinions and conclusions about
you and your maturity.
So, again, when it comes toonline arguments and division,
(14:22):
you're not accomplishinganything of significance for the
kingdom when Christians arejust fighting with each other
online or when you try to engagethe atheist to convert him to
Christianity through theFacebook comments.
Another one is comparison andenvy, and this is just again.
(14:43):
I had alluded to it earlier,but this can be a pitfall when
we look at what other peoplehave online.
We look at their Instagramlives and we think everything's
perfect.
Pictures don't tell stories.
They just portray what we wantthem to portray.
And just remember that nobody'slife is better or more perfect
than what you see online, and soit just.
(15:06):
There can be a false sense ofwhere somebody is at, and then
you want to compare yourself tothat person.
It's challenging, and if you'resomebody who's got a platform,
be mindful that you're nottrying to portray something that
you're not Portraying this kindof perfect life and a life
(15:27):
without struggle and a lifewithout challenges.
And you don't have your baddays too.
We all do.
So we need to be mindful aboutwhat we project of ourselves and
how we compare ourselves withothers.
Online, the internet, socialmedia, can be a source of
discontentment, but we need tolearn that our contentment is in
Christ rather than our socialstatus or what we see in others,
(15:49):
and that will help guard us.
And a fourth pitfall that Ithink is common to all of us is
consuming harmful or evenmisleading content.
We need to be mindful of whatwe put in.
There was an old oh man.
When I was growing up, myparents introduced me to these
(16:10):
old VHS movies McGee and Me, meand I remember in one of those
videos um, I don't remember thecharacter's names, but the
statement was I think the sonwanted to go to see a scary
movie, a bad movie, and thefather was telling him now you
can't go, you don't want to goto that, it's not good for you.
(16:31):
And he sneaks out and he goesand sees the movie and he comes
home and there's like confessionabout it.
It's a little blurry for me toremember, but again the dad says
garbage in, garbage out, andthe principle that he's saying
there is what you put in to you,what you deposit in you, is
what will come out of you.
(16:52):
And so what kind of content arewe consuming through social
media?
What is our level ofdiscernment?
Paul says in Colossians 2, seethat no one takes you captive by
philosophy and empty to seeaccording to human tradition,
according to the elementalspirits of the world and not
according to Christ.
What is guiding us?
What are we reading, watchingand sharing?
(17:15):
And also, but what's harmful,is our social media used for
good or for gossip, forstrengthening or for slander?
Let's not consume, be mindfulof not consuming harmful content
or misleading content.
And so much gets posted that'sunverified information.
Before you share that pictureor that scale or that chart,
(17:40):
maybe do a little bit ofhomework.
There's a lot of misinformationthat gets shared through
Facebook, instagram and so forth, and it's foolishness.
And so don't believe everythingthat's on the internet because
it's on the internet, and verifyinformation before you share it
.
These are common pitfalls thatChristians face on social media.
(18:01):
So then, what are somepractical ways that we can use
our social media to honor Christ?
And let me just give you acouple in addition to my own
resolutions.
First, use your platform forgood.
This is similar to what I wassaying.
Do you share scripture on yourplatform?
(18:23):
Is it a place of encouragement?
Jesus tells his followers inMatthew 5, verse 14, you are the
light of the world.
His city, set on a hill, cannotbe hidden Again.
In verse 16, he says let yourlight shine before others that
they may see your good works andgive glory to your Father who
is in heaven.
We can, as faithful followersof Jesus, be the light of the
(18:49):
world through social media.
We can let our light shinebefore others that they might
see the goodness of our platform, the goodness of our Twitter
handle or X handle, the goodnessof what we post, and it points
to the glory of God.
So use your platform for good.
(19:10):
Let me give you another one thatwe can honor Christ with social
media.
Practice a digital Sabbath andself-control.
This means, instead of thepitfall of mismanaging our time,
we could manage our time well.
So set limits on screen timeMaybe.
Design certain times in yourday that you know are what we
(19:32):
would call tech-free times timesfor prayer, reading,
relationships and away fromsocial media.
Here's another practical way wecan honor Christ on social
media is follow accounts thatencourage spiritual growth, that
encourage spiritual growth.
(19:52):
What's your newsfeed look like?
Is it a place where you can goto and you receive encouragement
?
You're seeing biblically soundcontent, so be intentional about
who and what influences you.
You can choose to follow andyou can choose to unfollow, and
(20:12):
maybe there are times that weneed to do a little bit of both.
And here's a final practicalway that we can honor Christ on
social media Engage with wisdomand kindness.
Before any post, ask theultimate question does this
glorify God?
Does this glorify God?
And if the answer is I don'tknow or no, let that be the
(20:36):
guide for how you post and howyou engage on social media.
Jesus says to his disciples inthe Gospel of John, chapter 13,
verse 35,.
He says by this, all peoplewill know that you are my
disciples if you have love forone another.
I would love to see more andmore Christians live this out on
(21:00):
social media, being known forlove rather than for controversy
.
Again, the controversies that goon.
They're always stalemates andeveryone loses.
There's never a winner, becausewhat it took to maybe win the
argument, you lost the personand you gave opportunity to
(21:22):
opposition outside ofChristianity to look and say
look how they treat one another.
They're not going to say thoseare disciples of Jesus.
Or if they say that's thedisciples of Jesus, I don't want
anything to do with that.
What's compelling about thatcommunity of people?
So, again, use your platform forgood.
Practice digital Sabbathself-control.
(21:42):
Follow accounts that encouragespiritual growth.
Engage with wisdom and kindnessso, as we reflect, to live
faithfully.
How is your social media useshaping your walk with Christ?
Is it drawing you closer to him?
Is it a distraction?
Think about intentional stepsthat you can do to align your
(22:06):
use of social media withbiblical values.
Let me remind you of Paul'swords to the Philippians.
He says let's use that as weengage with fellow brothers and
(22:31):
sisters and others on our socialmedia.
I want to thank you forlistening to the Pleasing God
podcast.
If you have any questions, Iwould love to hear from you.
You can reach out at questionsat pleasinggodpodcastorg, and
remember 1 Thessalonians 4.3,.
This is the will of God, yoursanctification.
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