Everybody knows that Facebook is big. But did you know that Facebook has over 500 million members? 50% of those members log on any given day. In a month, people spend 700 billion minutes on Facebook.
The average user has around 130 friends. You might have more or less, they might be mostly people from church, or mostly people from work, but these are people that can see your posts, your pictures, your information — and it’s easy to access all that stuff. As Christians, it’s our job to shine our light to those around us. Facebook can be a great resource, and a major help when it comes to spreading the gospel, but… do we really use it for that? And in fact, many Christians do more harm than good. Christians today are being influenced by internet culture and they’re giving in to the ways of the world — it’s happening in real life, and it’s happening on Facebook.
I’m not saying that it’s okay to sin in private, but when we show a bad example on Facebook, lots of people can see the mistakes we’re making… and they join the ranks of those who claim that “the church is full of hypocrites.”
Facebook can be used for good, though. Please don’t think that Facebook is a work of pure evil or something… but like any good thing, it can be misused. There are a lot of preachers and teachers that use Facebook as a tool to offer encouragement. We can (and should) use Facebook to uplift, offer accountability, and share things with one another.
That’s what we should be doing. However, people abuse and misuse Facebook all the time… these people become more and more like their worldly friends.
Before we go any farther, I’d like to point out that we can’t always agree on every point and on every subject. Let’s remember to go back to the Bible (not ourselves) as the source for our morals and principles. You might read through this post and think, “Are you saying that I’m being a bad Christian?” I’m not saying it — God is. I’m simply expanding and offering my thoughts about what He says in His word. This post is intended to be helpful, so please take it as such. What good would it do to yell at people and shove their mistakes in their faces? We all need something to wake us up once in a while. If you feel uncomfortable or guilty about some of the things that I talk about in this article, please listen to your conscience and ask yourself if what you’re doing is what’s right.
People offer bad examples and un-Christ-like behaviors on Facebook. Why?
On the internet, but Facebook in particular, people feel like they have something to hide behind. Facebook isn’t “IRL,” and they feel detached from the world and “real life.” “Christians” don’t want the responsibility of shining their lights to the world.
Another reason could be is that Christians have added worldly friends from school or work, and they don’t want to be considered religious prudes. Also, these Christians might act just like their worldly friends when they’re around them, so on Facebook, their attitude doesn’t change.
Finally, Christians aren’t really Christians, and they don’t care. Some people are Christians by name only. A lot of people pretend to be awesome, Jesus-loving, church-going Christians once a week on Sundays (if even that often), but on Facebook (or at work, or at school), it’s all different. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:14 — “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” It’s interesting to see how people act when they aren’t sitting in a pew at church.
There are a lot of people that pretend — some people do a good job of it, and some don’t. They can participate in movies, play certain games, do things with their friends, but at church, everything changes. What’s sad is that so many people believe that they’re justified by going to church once a week.
Facebook Problems
There are a few “categories” of bad things that are posted on Facebook. These categories were inspired by a post from a great preacher. I’m going to examine these categories a little bit deeper.
Language and Euphemisms
Why do we find it necessary to use profanity — even just a little bit of it? Thanks to texting and chatting, acronyms like “OMG” and “WTH” are becoming more and more common — and it’s rubbing off on Christians. How does typing a letter in place of curse word make it okay? Many people justify it this way. Everyone knows what an “F” or a “H” stands for, masking it doesn’t make it any better. There’s also an attitude behind it. There’s nothing wrong with typing the letter, “h”, but when I’m typing it and meaning it to express feelings of anger or confusion, that makes it bad.
We need to watch ourselves when it comes to using God’s name. Do we forget how great God is, and that He is worthy of all respect and honor? Yet euphemisms for God’s holy name are used so flippantly! Let’s not justify ourselves by saying, “Well, when I use ‘OMG,’ I’m meaning “Oh my goodness.” That’s not what other people are thinking when you use that acronym — and they’re going to think that you don’t care how the Lord’s name is used… and again, the “Churches are full of hypocrites” army just gained another follower.
What about those “not-so-bad” words? What’s so good about being close to the line that God draws for us? If our goal is to be serving God, we need to stay as far away as possible from impurity.
Here’s an extremely important verse for us to remember, from Matthew 12:33-37:
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
What about if a worldly, non-Christian friend posts something wrong on our statuses or walls? Well, should we have any part with cursing and profanity? Should we allow that? Would Jesus allow that? We might say, “Well, they might think that we’re having a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude, and I might not get an opportunity to talk to them about Jesus, then.” Remember, the most important Being that we need to please is God. We shouldn’t have to worry about what other people think. If they’re so hard-hearted that they won’t listen to us because we deleted a profane comment, well, they might be a lost cause. God can open opportunities for us. But who knows — maybe deleting a friend’s comment and messaging them about it could be that opportunity we’ve been looking for. We shouldn’t have to accept profanity, especially when we can control what’s being posted on our Facebook pages.
Posting immodest or inappropriate pictures, “liking” or accepting pictures
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” – Matthew 5:27:30
Just because you might be strong enough to resist lusting after someone in a picture, doesn’t mean that another person on your friend’s list will be able to. If you’ve been tagged in some image where some woman is dressed inappropriately (and you’re aware of it — a lot of stuff goes on in the world of Facebook, you might not be able to keep track of every photo you’ve been tagged in), you should untag yourself — imagine if a friend is flipping through the “Photos of You” album and stumbles across that one. Just think if that friend is going through some tough temptation… you might cause that brother to stumble.
Also, if you’re posting pictures of yourself (especially the young ladies and women), be careful of what you are posting — the world is tempting enough as it is. Christian men don’t need to have Christian women tempting them. Would you be okay with your father or preacher looking that picture you just posted? More importantly — would you be comfortable if your Heavenly Father saw that picture you posted? And — to put in perspective — God IS aware of that picture you posted.
What about those “inappropriate” or “questionable” (not necessarily sexual) pictures? Remember, being Christ-like should be our first priority.
Why should we “like” these inappropriate or immodest pictures on friends’ profiles? By “liking” these things, we are approving of them. And we shouldn’t be accepting sin.
“Liking” or accepting inappropriate fan pages
There are thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of fan pages on Facebook. There are many fan pages that a Christian shouldn’t be “liking.” Many pages include cursing or common internet acronyms in the title… and like we discussed earlier, Christians should have no part with such language. Also, why should we “like” foul music artists that sing about sex and drugs? Why should we “like” movies that are rated “R”? Why should we “like” video games with gratuitous violence and cursing?
Posting about inappropriate relationships between saints and worldly people
Many “Christians” don’t have a problem dating non-Christians. Many Christians also post about their relationships on Facebook. The Bible, does, however, make it clear that Christians should not be having romantic relationships with non-believers.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14, it says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?”
Whether or not the context of verse 14 is talking about marriage or dating, the next verse is much more specific: “And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” What’s the purpose of dating? To find the right person, the person who you’re planning on spending the rest of your life with. Quoting from Got Questions.org, “How could a quality marriage be built and maintained if you disagree on the most crucial issue in the universe — the Lord Jesus Christ?” This just shows the lack of faith and dedication on the part of the “Christian” — that the most important thing in that person’s life is romance, and not Jesus Christ. Look at all the examples in the Bible of strong, God-fearing men falling away because of the women they chose to have relationships with. In the Old Testament, God’s holy people weren’t to be joined with unholy, worldly nations.
It’s clear that Christians shouldn’t be having relationships with non-Christians. So, why should we be bragging about such relationships on Facebook?
Conclusion
If you go to those movies, play those games, or listen to that type of music, you shouldn’t just hide the fact that you enjoy participating in that sin, you should stop and not have anything at all to do with it!
Don’t forget that Facebook is public. Everything that you post is viewable by virtually anyone. Most importantly, remember that once you post something on Facebook, it’s no longer private. Any sins on Facebook that you commit are public sins.
Think about what our job here on this earth is: our job is to serve God, and to teach others to serve God. Being a hypocrite isn’t going to convert anyone. Being just like your friends isn’t going to make them want to be a servant of God.
If you’ve looked at yourself — and your Facebook profile — and you’ve realized that you need to be shining your light brighter, decide right now that you’re going to do better and make a difference. As much as you might not like to do this, you should really apologize for your behavior. Your friends and co-workers are going to realize that you’re different at this point — they’ll be thinking, “Why are you apologizing for that? Everybody does that.” And that’s your opportunity to be like Christ. If you need to sort through your list of 800 fan pages to clean out the junk that you shouldn’t have added, well, so be it. If you need to delete impure comments, wall posts, or status updates… you know what you need to do. Let’s spread the word not only by sermons, blog posts, and Bible verses, but also by our actions — and what we choose to participate in and post about on Facebook.
(http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics)
(New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
(http://www.gotquestions.org/date-marry-unbeliever.html)
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Tags: christianity, direction, facebook, sin, world, worldliness
Good stuff, William. I think the key (and the heartbreaking part) is that FB, in the end, is just a reflection of what is happening in my life, and therefore in my heart. We tell more than we realize…