I
couldn’t help but laugh the other day when my wife took a picture and couldn’t
move fast enough to get it instantly uploaded to Facebook. After getting it loaded and putting a little
comment about what the picture was, she began to check back periodically to see
how many “likes” her picture got. I
remember thinking to myself how foolish we have all become (and by we, I mean
all of us and not specifically my wife).
Our current age of social media and blogs and instant access has created
monsters…US. We are the monsters; craving nothing but more access and information as fast as we can get it.
Look, I’m just as guilty of it
as anyone else. I check my social media accounts on my smartphone far too often. We had a guy come in to
church the other day and after talking to him and finding out his name I got on
Facebook and Twitter and typed it in…nothing!
What do you mean no Facebook?
What do you mean he doesn’t have a Twitter account? How and I going to find out more about this
person without a little social media stalking?
Well, it turns out that going to lunch with him and actually having a conversation was a pretty good way of
finding out who he really is and what he’s all about.
You know, when you really sit
back and think about the social media phenomenon and all that goes with it, it’s
quite amazing. The problem is that many
times it’s amazingly bad. We all know that
girl who got fired over posting inappropriate pictures on Facebook. Some of us even have a friend that called in
sick to work and was then caught "tweeting" from Florida when he was supposed to
be home in bed. We’ve seen friendships
ruined over misinterpreted status updates, relationships shattered over
incriminating picture tags, and arguments started over reactionary responses to
current news stories. So, I ask myself
quite often, “With all of this bad, what good actually comes from social media?”
Well, for starters, it’s a great
way to stay connected. We live in a
world that is moving further and further apart.
Generations ago, it was unheard of for more than a handful of folks to
leave a hometown and never return. Now,
we move so often it’s hard to remember which place we actually call our
hometown. Social media is also a great
way to share positive stories, discuss social matters (to an extent), and
reconnect with friends we thought we would never see again. It’s also a great way for us to show off our
kids and families to our friends that they most likely will never meet.
However, of all of the things
that I have found things like Facebook and Twitter to be good at, they have
been the best at allowing me to fulfill Jesus' instructions to his disciples in Acts
1:8, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and
to the end of the earth.” You
see, I don’t know where the end of the earth is, but I’m pretty sure that I may
never actually make it there in person (yes, I know that spheres don’t have
ends). However, through the technology
of social media, smartphones, blogs, etc., I can reach out across the world
with my words. I can post a blog article
here in south Louisiana and someone in Russia find it and be encouraged by it
(which has happened). I can post a
status update quoting the inspiring and convicting words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
while waiting for a fish to bite my line only to have a friend in Turkey be
renewed by my post. I can randomly throw out a text of Scripture speaking to the gift of marriage and have it help someone to see that they are neglecting their spouse. You see, there are
numerous good things that can come about through our use of social media. The question with social media (as with
anything else in life) is how we are going to us it.
Sure, we could run around
spreading hatred and bigotry (which contrary to what some folks think, that is not the goal of
Christians). We could post nothing but
insults and messages of anger (with the occasional happy birthday message
thrown in). However, we can also use it
to proclaim God’s Word. I can’t tell you
how many articles I find “shared” on Facebook or "tweeted out" that have been of
tremendous blessing to both myself and my ministry. Yes, I’m well aware of the fact that when we
look at Facebook that we find someone who one day posts videos of a laughing
cat and the next day has figured out the best way to run the country. I’m well aware of the fact that Facebook is
only a step below Wikipedia in the reliability department. However, I also know that through the use of
the internet (websites, blogs, social media, etc.), that we stand at a point in
time of endless possibility. There is no
excuse for our not taking the gospel outward.
After all, you never know when something that you post today that brings
glory to God won’t be the thing that leads someone else to see that glory at
another time and in another place.
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