As Christians, should we be engaging with our culture and participating in Social Networking?
Romans 12:1-2 (MSG) puts it like this...
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Clearly the Bible does not have explicit references to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or any other form of social media, but it does give us guidance on how we should engage with our culture. We are called to be salt and light within all spheres of society. What does that look lie in our contemporary culture? It means being authentic and a person of integrity across the board... within our relationships and interactions in person and online.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
(1 Corinthians 10:31).
If we are willing to let God use our participation in social networking for His glory and not to boost our own ego or be consumed by it then I think that we have the freedom to participate in it... But, this calls for self discipline with our time spent on social networking. We are called to invest in our relationships and communities, to impact our spheres of influence that we find ourselves in.
The Good...
Social networking is a great means of keeping in contact with people across the world, connecting with like-minded people and being able to learn from one another... I am able to connect with friends and family here in the UK and abroad (for free) at the touch of a button thanks to modern technology. I can browse articles and listen to sermons from people I have never met, but seek to influence our society and our world for God.
The Bad...
But there are also negative aspects to social networking... People can become so preoccupied with the number of "friends" they have or feel that they need to portray a persona suitable for the world to see which does not reflect the true person.
Social networking is one of the greatest distractions of our generation. Being so preoccupied with social media can be detrimental to our relationships in person as people often don't feel like they have our full attention... Smart phones are often blamed for this as they are constantly notifying of emails, texts, Facebook/Twitter or DrawSomething posts etc... But surely this is where we need to be more self disciplined.
The Ugly...
We all are entitled to our own beliefs and opinions, but more often than not, these are expressed on a social forum. Sometimes this has a positive effect and response, but all too often I have seen people slate one another for their opinions and get caught up in unhealthy debates which is not glorifying to God or edifying to anyone else.
Accountability for what is posted on social media is important... Do we really want the world to see certain photos or know everything about us? Probably not. I am becoming increasingly aware of things I post... Is it honouring to God? Is it going to offend anyone? If there is any doubt, then it doesn't go online.
I have a love/hate relationship with social media... It's great for me in terms of keeping in touch with friends and family abroad for free, but I am aware that it can so easily consume my time that could be better spent investing in my relationships with friends/family/the community, or spending time with God/being creative etc.
As with anything, we need to have a balance and exercise self control. When social media is used to glorify God and encourage others, it can have a great impact for His kingdom.
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