"Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in
your ways“
[Psalm 119:37]
Time is a precious commodity, and to
spend it wisely is one of the Christian’s absorbing goals.
We don’t want to waste our lives.
So,
how do we manage the Social Media?
It is very clear that we must manage things before they manage us,
otherwise we become slaves of our things.[1] The Christian is not to be controlled by
things, but by the Spirit of God[2]. The social media greatly challenges our stewardship of time.
But not only of time...
There are some subtle challenges connected to this phenomenon - such as information
overload. So many images and messages pass through our mind -
each crying out for our attention. It becomes quite bewildering and downright impossible to sit down and adequately reflect and process all that is being
thrown at us from the many media
channels.
The long history of human innovation proves that every technology has
inevitable consequences. It is very difficult to see what a given technology
may lead to, and what changes it may produce in society over time. Only time
can tell.
We can now for instance see the
development of consumerism and its related problems. We never thought that consumerism would produce an ecological challenge. But consumerism, fed
by the media and advertising is responsible for the plastic pollution that we
now face. Everything is packaged atttractively in plastic to make it appealing to the consumer, but it leaves us with mountains of plastic that polluite our soils and seas.
Intellectually we have become addicted to sound bites. Our attention
spans are shorter. Our powers to think
through consequences are reduced, because we are now taught to focus on immediate
gratification.
This media bombardment
began to intensify in the last century
with the advent of the Radio and TV. It is now amplified many times over
by the advent of the social media.
Should we be alarmed?
Should we have
reasons for concern?
Many among us have embraced Facebook … Twitter … SMS… WhatsApp …Google ... Blogger … Others have shunned it.
Each one has their own reasons.
I freely confess that I have a love – hate
relationship with the social media.
There are times when I think that these
are tremendous forums of information and communication.I have located a number of old,long lost friends via Facebook. I have been able
to see how people were doing and stay
in touch and see their photos. I
have been able to send brief communications world- wide, at the drop of a hat.
I am enabled to remember people’s birthdays[3]. But there are other times when I find that the
social media are too time consuming.
They do have an addictive element.
Also, I confess that never have I felt more connected to the world, and
yet, never have I felt more watched. There is more than enough evidence on the
world wide web to condemn me for being a Christian.
The social media has revolutionized our
world. Facebook is now the most successful civil forum in the world. It was
instrumental in the
Arab spring revolution in 2010 [4] (some
called it the Facebook revolution), replacing dictators and replacing them … well with other
dictators.
A new language is appearing. In 2013, Oxford English Dictionary declared “selfie” to be their Word of the Year.[5] Other new
words are photobombing
and unfriending and ‘lol’.
English, as the most dominant language on the Internet, is becoming a new type
of Pidgin English.
The Christian world has not been
slow to buy into the social media. Most
churches now have blogs, websites, Facebook pages. It is one of the new ways to
let the world know about the gospel of Jesus.
On a number of occasions people have visited our church (and have stayed)
because
they have seen my blog, or our
Church’s Facebook page. A number of
my Christian friends use Face Book and Twitter to share Scripture,
and to post useful articles
or links to Christian websites.
That is all very positive, and yet, there are subtle dangers!
Tim Chester in his book, “Will you be my Face Book friend” (2013) writes, “while the benefits of new technologies are immediately apparent,
the negatives are more hidden.“ [6]
Let us consider the apparent and the more hidden dangers.
Apparent Dangers
Time
wasted on social media. According to research done, nearly half of FB
users (ages 18-34) check in within minutes of waking up in the morning. Repeated checking thereafter absorbs large portions of time.
Constant
interruption. We feel the constant need to
check our social media accounts,
interrupting valuable time with others. The same is incidentally true for the
cell phone. We allow ourselves to be interrupted because the phone rings. We
cut conversations with people because the phone rings. The phone rules and
overrules. We need to develop a Christian mind on this.
Not
using proper grammar and sentences is affecting the way we express ideas. We are losing
our ability to construct an argument.
Social Media users tend to skim
text rather than read it. I am
constantly amazed to see how often people misread information posted on social media because they do
not read thoroughly.
A lack
of careful analysis and evaluation due to information overload. We know the facts,but we don’t know how to
analyze them. We do not engage in critical thinking.I can think of no better method to
promote critical thinking
than reading a book with a pen in
hand, interacting, arguing or agreeing
with the writer as I go along. I am forced into a conversation, but in skimming
a book I am just looking for information
(which has its place).
Changing
our attitude to learning. Having Smartphones with their Google capacities means that we can now access information
whenever we like. In that sense
technology makes us more efficient. We
do not have to go to a library or find an outdated Encyclopedia Britannica to
get outdated information, but now have the
latest information at our
fingertips.
But here’s the challenge,
- Why learn or memorize when you can google?
- Why learn historical dates when you can look them up on Wikipedia?
The problem is that we are prone to no longer want to hold information in our minds, preventing us to make connections between ideas.
Why
learn Bible verses when you have your Bible on the phone? Yet the
Bible itself calls us to meditate on it and retain its words. We are to have
the word in our hearts and not on our cell phones, “I have stored up your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps
119:11)
Getting
hooked to digital cocaine: If you want to know whether you have an
obsessive relationship with the social
media, here is a quick checklist [7]:
- Do you check your FB page often in a day?
- More than 20 mins on FB per day?
- Do you find it difficult to imagine a day without social media?
- Do you ever gone online to check messages/ FB status during a church meeting?
- Do you answer phones or messages during meals or conversations?
- Do you keep it in the bedroom ‘on’ all night?
More Subtle Dangers[8]
1. On FB/
social media I can recreate my world to gain approval.
I
have a forum to reinvent myself to the watching world.
I can create a new identity by selective
reporting; by uploading pictures that portray me in a certain way - usually
having a good time or looking good. There are no ugly pictures of me. My life takes place on a stage and I write the script, creating or recreating myself. Doesn’t this sound idolatrous? I am re-creating myself in my own image? Are you in the process of reinventing yourself? Do you see the subtle process behind this kind of thinking? Who is it that made you in His image?
The obvious question here is - "that which I am seeking to portary to the world- is that really me?" Is your FB image self more attractive or more successful than your real world self?" The Bible teaches me that I do not need to recreate myself. Jesus recreates me.
The obvious question here is - "that which I am seeking to portary to the world- is that really me?" Is your FB image self more attractive or more successful than your real world self?" The Bible teaches me that I do not need to recreate myself. Jesus recreates me.
My identity is in Christ and my Christian mind needs to learn to be
content with that.
2. FB/ social
media can create a very “me centered”
world.
Our overriding concern should be what God thinks of us. “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal 1:10). Paul here addresses the fact that the Galatian Christians had allowed themselves to be bullied by the information which the Judaizers gave them, into taking on another gospel. Paul thinks that they were submitting to the fear of man which was crippling their thinking and therefore their actions, thus becoming legalists, when in fact Christ had set them free. The Christian view is that we ultimately stand and fall before God. God is our ultimate judge - see Paul again in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5.
4. Not only can I recreate myself on FB, but I can measure myself through FB. i.e. I can rank myself through the number of FB friends or the amount of followers on my blog and the comments I receive on my blog, or I can score myself through the amounts of ‘likes’. These become the index of my self- worth, and again we point out that the Bible teaches that our identity and worth and sufficiency is in Christ.
5. Self - absorption can cause depression. A study at Stanford University found people often depressed after spending time of FB. [10] Why? FB is geared to project positivity. Everything can only be liked. You see pictures of people having a good time, and on holiday and doing things. There rarely are pictures of someone feeling bored, unhappy or miserable. In the meantime back in my reality, the day that I have had at work seems dull and sad. And I feel bad.
6.Superficiality: Listen to this actual FB entrance which I actually read on FB some years ago:“My beloved wife and companion died yesterday”. Response: 2 comments and 8 likes!
“I like the fact that your wife died yesterday?” That tends to be the problem with skimming. It does not produce analysis. It easily fosters thoughtlessness.
7.Temptations: Online flirting can lead to relational breakdown. Apparently more than a third of UK divorce filings in 2011 contained the word “Facebook” [11].
What Is The Spiritual Problem Behind All
These Dangers?An
Australian study entitled, “Who uses FB?“, found a significant correlation between the use of FB and narcissism (self-
love). The study concluded, “It could be argued that Facebook specifically
gratifies the narcissistic individual’s need to engage in self- promoting and
superficial behaviour“[9]. Think
about this every time you post something, “Why
am I doing this? What am I trying to achieve? Who is at the center of this post?
3.The
underlying need of continuous posting on social media may be the seeking of the
approval of others. This need
to be ‘heard’ by others, and by what
other’s should think of us, can be very intimidating.
Our overriding concern should be what God thinks of us. “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal 1:10). Paul here addresses the fact that the Galatian Christians had allowed themselves to be bullied by the information which the Judaizers gave them, into taking on another gospel. Paul thinks that they were submitting to the fear of man which was crippling their thinking and therefore their actions, thus becoming legalists, when in fact Christ had set them free. The Christian view is that we ultimately stand and fall before God. God is our ultimate judge - see Paul again in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5.
4. Not only can I recreate myself on FB, but I can measure myself through FB. i.e. I can rank myself through the number of FB friends or the amount of followers on my blog and the comments I receive on my blog, or I can score myself through the amounts of ‘likes’. These become the index of my self- worth, and again we point out that the Bible teaches that our identity and worth and sufficiency is in Christ.
5. Self - absorption can cause depression. A study at Stanford University found people often depressed after spending time of FB. [10] Why? FB is geared to project positivity. Everything can only be liked. You see pictures of people having a good time, and on holiday and doing things. There rarely are pictures of someone feeling bored, unhappy or miserable. In the meantime back in my reality, the day that I have had at work seems dull and sad. And I feel bad.
6.Superficiality: Listen to this actual FB entrance which I actually read on FB some years ago:“My beloved wife and companion died yesterday”. Response: 2 comments and 8 likes!
“I like the fact that your wife died yesterday?” That tends to be the problem with skimming. It does not produce analysis. It easily fosters thoughtlessness.
7.Temptations: Online flirting can lead to relational breakdown. Apparently more than a third of UK divorce filings in 2011 contained the word “Facebook” [11].
It is ultimately a lack of contentment in terms of
who we are and the way God made
us. This lack of contentment is rooted in our fallen
natures. Through the fall, we like Cain
have become restless wanderers in the earth. We are never happy with ourselves
and for this reason the church father Augustine wrote, “Oh Lord’s our hearts are restless, until
they are found in Thee!” The Bible teaches us that our heart’s content
needs to be rooted in Christ.
In Philippians 4: 10-13 we find the portrait of a contented man – the
apostle Paul, “I
rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern
for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that
I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am
to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any
and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
These words were written by Paul who
sat in prison because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Jealous and corrupt people
have done this to him. He is now awaiting possible execution over their false charges. In this prison, Paul
writes some of the greatest words on the nature of contentment. He does this by way of a letter of thanks which he writes to the Christians in Philippi. He wants them
to know that he is very happy and thankful to have received their generous
gift, BUT he also wants them to know that he feels himself wonderfully
sustained by God in this very difficult situation. His contentment and his happiness is anchored
in the LORD. He doesn’t want them to
think that he had been discontented before the gift arrived, but he does want them to know that their
generosity was truly appreciated. So he combines his thanks with this valuable
lesson on the secret for contentment.
Christian
contentment comes as we find ourselves rooted and established in Christ. Christian joy is not conditioned by human approval, or by being liked
(or disliked). It is not dependent on material comforts, a healthy body or a good
job. Christian contentment is rooted in
the fact that Jesus loves us, and if He is with us, no matter what we may lack,
we have that which matters most.
Let’s see the social media for what they are. They are useful, but we must learn to waste our precious time not on these tools, but in real
relationships, firstly with our Tri-une God, and then in terms
of real relationships, to which we are called by God in the context of His body the church.
[1] See Galatians 5:1 for warning
[2] See this principle applied
in Ephesians 5:18
[4] Arab Spring is the media's name for a series of uprisings and
protests throughout the middle east, beginning in December of 2010 including
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Syria, Tunisia,
and Yemen.
[6] Tim Chester: Will you be my Facebook friend p.11
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