I despise the excuse, “it’s a necessary evil,” yet I feel stuck. While certain believers piously boast about taking a break from social media during Lent, personally, I would like to give it up for good. Why?
There’s an overabundance of drama and arguing taking place on social media that’s sapping our joy. Good Lord above have mercy, just imagine all of the nonsense flooding social media this November with our upcoming Presidential election.
Plus, people bravely bully each other on social media, saying things to each other they would never say face to face. Apparently, our judgmental side creeps out like kudzu whenever we hide behind the protective shield of our well-lit screen.
Also, for some reason social media is a breeding ground for negativity, fear-mongering, and conspiracy theories — any individual post has the power to unite, divide, and alienate simultaneously. With each new controversy spawned by our culture, suddenly, everyone with a keyboard is an expert pontificating on every topic.
And then daily, if we’re honest, social media siphons off too many hours. Can you think of anything that steals our time so successfully?
Last but certainly not least, social media competes for our attention with others too. We hardly see anyone talking with each other anymore (or reading a printed page either), because they all have their noses glued to their phones.
I have taken steps to reduce my frustration with social media, like unfriending unfriendly people and leaving groups/pages that only end up irritating me. The line between dependence and addiction is blurry, I know -- I’m trying to maintain more balance, but it isn’t always easy with social media. If you have recommendations on how you tame this chaos, I’m all ears.
Here’s the rub, in my desperation to remain relevant and accessible I feel like I can’t afford to break free. My wife and I run a small business and our exposure on social media helps customers find us. And, the church where I preach, we livestream our sermons weekly and we usually have more people watching through social media than we have in actual attendance.
Social media isn’t evil per se, but it seems like our reliance upon it is a necessary evil. As I wrestled with all of this I asked myself, is there a passage of Scripture that might offer a filter, perhaps some guidance on how to navigate or manage this conundrum? Here’s what came to mind, I hope you find these words of Jesus helpful too, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matt 10:16)
We celebrate Easter this weekend and the promise of transformation through the Resurrection. Does your time on social media reflect a Spirit-filled redeemed life or does it represent something less? Thankfully, the choice belongs to each of us on what we allow to influence our hearts, may we allow God on this Good Friday to lead us to choose more wisely.
Originally published in the Times News:
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