Don’t Do This: 3 things Internet culture teaches us to do that the Bible condemns
Photo: Getty/LumiNola/Illustration: EEW Magazine
By EEW Magazine Online // Spiritual // Social Media
There has been much said, written, and studied pertaining to social media’s impact on culture. From mental health to self-esteem, everyone from experts to everyday people, analysts to activists, have extensively explored, analyzed, and predicted how human behavior is and will be both affected and transformed by the pervasiveness of online interactions.
But not nearly enough attention is given to the way our global interconnectedness and real-time responses to public figures, news headlines, and publicized drama of ordinary people affects the lifestyles of those who claim to be Jesus followers.
Internet culture normalizes behaviors, actions, and ideas that Christianity opposes. While there are many no-noes, EEW Magazine Online is highlighting just 3 social media do’s that are don’ts for Christians.
#1 Judging others. “Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 NLT)
Social media makes it far too easy to ignore your personal mess because it keeps you focused on what you perceive as wrong in the lives of others. Worse yet, Internet judges and juries indict, convict, and sentence the “guilty,” when God calls Christians to forsake judgment and embrace forgiveness and redemption. As Jesus said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”
#2 Gossiping about others. “At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also they become gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” (1 Timothy 5:13 NASB)
Since any and everybody’s business can quickly become a trending topic online, daily gossip is just a click away. Sometimes, if someone you’re following is nosey and messy, a story you didn’t go looking for will randomly show up in your feed. In these moments, Christians must decide what they will do. Get sucked into the juicy gossip and spread it around like the busybodies Scripture condemns? Or look the other way and just keep it moving?
#3 Talking trash to others. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)
It is common to hurl insults and directly attack people we don’t even know in the comment sections of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Who gave us the right to berate strangers, mock and ridicule them, dehumanize and trash-talk them for doing something we do not like? More than half of Internet bullies could not handle what they dish out. Christians are commanded to encourage and edify others; we are supposed to build them up, not tear them down. So, make it a rule that if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t type anything at all.
Don’t lose your witness for Christ online by being a judgmental bully, harsh critic, or petty gossip. There is a dying world that needs to see the light of Christ shining through you.
Salvation and character transformation, when it is real, do not cease on the Internet. Those who follow Christ exhibit His attributes—both online and off. If your Christian qualities disappear once you connect to the Internet, perhaps you are disconnected from Christ.
