There are several universal warnings given to kids we can chalk up to basic street smarts; things you just shouldn’t do because most of the time, it doesn’t end well.
- Don’t play with fire. You will inevitably get burned either literally or figuratively. Both are bad.
- Don’t cross the street without looking both ways. The one time you don’t could hit you hard.
- Don’t stick objects other than plugs into electrical outlets. The experience will shock you.
- Last but not least, don’t run with scissors. No need to point out the danger there.
No one ever told me not to run with a recorder (a musical instrument in the flute family) in my mouth. So, I ran, I played my recorder while running, I tripped, and the mouthpiece jammed into the roof of my mouth. Needless to say, I learned that lesson the hard way.
I’m not the first to say it by any stretch, but I feel compelled to highlight a danger I fear many, if not most of us fail to regard. Like the items mentioned above – fire, outlets, scissors – used properly with care, they provide great benefits. But used thoughtlessly, they represent great potential for harm.
The danger I have in mind has to do with social media.
Before you stop reading, consider the following. Just this week, five of the largest social media platforms (Discord, SnapChat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (FaceBook)) were required to appear before a congressional committee to discuss Online Childhood Sexual Exploitation.
The essence of that hearing had to do with big tech’s lack of responsibility for the use of their platforms. The fact is, they claim that their platforms exist to cultivate connection and community, and they do contribute to that at some level, but it seems fair to say that social media has fostered as much or more division and dysfunction than it has healthy, vibrant relationships.
It’s interesting, a large majority of Americans currently utilize social media platforms, yet, 64% of Americans claimed in 2020 that social media is having a negative effect on the way things are going in the U.S. today (Pew Research Center). I don’t sense that things have improved.
We’re in an election year. There are two wars being fought in the world, both of which involve the United States to some degree. There are significant social issues being debated culturally. Surely, it’s worth prayerfully considering how we engage these things as followers of Christ in the public eye.
If that weren’t enough, it’s also worth taking into consideration how much time we devote to social media and whether or not it is producing the kind of fruit we would hope for in our lives and the lives of those who encounter us online.
Here are a couple of explicit biblical directives that can help us navigate how we conduct ourselves in the public square. Think of them as “biblical street smarts.”
Ephesians 5:15–16 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths (or posts), but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
1 Corinthians 10:31–33 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.”
1 Peter 2:15–17 “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
By the way, the emperor that Peter urges believers to honor is the same emperor who lit Christians on fire to illuminate his gardens.
Before we hit enter, maybe a few questions are in order … “Why am I posting what I’m posting?” Is pride fueling my posture in any way? What am I truly trying to say, and is it even necessary? Am I adding to the noise of an echo chamber constructed by the platforms I use? Is what I’m writing advancing the kingdom of light? Or something else?
I wonder if expressing “what we really think” online is an attempt to feel a sense of strength, control or security amid the chaos of our culture? I have yet to see those we criticize or condemn change in any way as a result of what we post? Have we bought into the idea that the world (currently ruled by the kingdom of darkness) should operate like the kingdom of light, though it has no ability to do so?
I was introduced to two proverbs years ago, both of which have been wonderful guides for me when it comes to communicating. I’ve had plenty of missteps, but rarely, if ever, when I’ve kept these timeless truths in the front of my mind.
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Proverbs 25:11 “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”
As Christ followers, we are not free to simply express our thoughts because we think them or even like them. We are ambassadors of the King (gospel couriers), conscripted by him to carry his message (not our own) to a lost world. Our words, therefore, must be dictated by his word and his heart to seek and save the lost. By God’s grace, let’s run (write) with care in these perilous times.