This post is a follow-up on my friendship post. I am happy I am finally sitting down to write this, in a month where the world stage is thinking deeply about Mental Health and its effect on our everyday life, with May being Mental Health Awareness Month.
THE WHY?
This past March 2018 I took on a challenge to really engage on Instagram more differently than I had been in the past. Never had I really explored the ‘explore page’ and all of a sudden I was. I found out I could see what was being liked by whom I followed; this was different from just seeing who someone follows or doesn’t follow which I anyone can easily see. Then when I saw a friend, a sister in my church who doesn’t wear makeup start liking a bunch of pictures of people wearing makeup, or a little sister who wore her natural hair her whole life, and start adding extra hair. Finally I realized more than a few people I was following who I actually knew and have met and had relations with in the physical were not following back. I was surprised, even those that were following were not interacting back with me although they were logging on to these social media platforms. I made up my mind this revelation I gained in prayer about social media had to be penned into this blog post.
I have a lot of questions surrounding social media and God is still unraveling them to me, but the underlining understanding God gave to me is to:
- NOT let it remove me from the FIRST ministry I have within my immediate and extended family.
- NOT let it remove the plans and greater purpose within the world He has called me to like; writing books in hopes to further share the gospel, academia, and mental health reform.
- Within social media itself, what you feed your eyes and ears on WILL affect you, your thinking, your desires, and comparison whether we like it or not and are consciously or unconsciously aware. Your interactions, the ‘likes’, or ‘love’ you do or don’t get should NOT take away from the undeniable love God the Father has for each and everyone of us.
I am in the process of detoxing from what I know I shouldn’t be spending so much time feeding my eyes on vs finding the right amount of engagement I want to have on these platforms.
I question if my account is to follow the patterns of many I see on Instagram particularly. It doesn’t matter your religion or association, it seems following celebrities whose lives (their biggest ministry) doesn’t quite add up to your convictions OR the Word for God is the normal. But for notoriety and the obsession of culture we follow their lives on social media platforms. Admiration is not a sin and yes the argument of Jesus befriended sinners is a good gesture to claim, but there is something we should want to gain even if comical when we go to someones page and scroll for more than a couple of minutes.
I tried to go on some famous celebrity pages and my flesh would rise, I may find something comical but my heart becomes grieved all too quickly because we all have to face judgement day, heaven or hell will be our fate. I then pray for my salvation to stay intact because it’s only by God’s grace I am not living a life of sin and regrets right now. It’s a balance we have to strike I totally understand. It is exciting to see the accounts of child actors we used to watch when we weren’t so grounded in the things of the Lord or may even indulge a little now, some may still choose to follow these accounts granted one can bypass the narratives being shown that clearly go against the rules of God; drinking drug use, gossip, fornication etc.
Even myself and my family we enjoy documentaries and movies at times, but there are things we consciously say no to, even for the culture we will NOT watch, OR listen to. We are both academics in our own right and want to teach our children to love Christ and to engage the world to show His light. But in compromising what we listen to, has long effects of binge addictions and a false perception of the mediocre life we could be living vs the extraordinary life we are called to live when we choose to follow and engage the Words in the Bible.
THE SOLUTION
So what is the solution in a social media driven world and culture? I mean it’s really even how me as a modern millennial gets the news, much faster than a news app or email list-serves.
- I choose to make my pages a space of Godly refuge with a prayerful picked theme. So logging on to these platforms I can be and see the CHANGE I want to see amidst the darkness. I only post when lead to by the Lord.
- I choose to evaluate those who I follow. I won’t necessarily un-follow anyone if they aren’t following back on a platform like Instagram or twitter. But if I am not led to follow them or I am not gaining anything encouraging from their page just un-follow/un-friend them. If you feel you are comparing your life too much also un-follow them. If you feel you are losing your Godly conviction unaddressed them! Comparison is something we need to work on off of social media, before any of us even join a platform. People post only what they want the world to see or know so their lives will never be something you fully see, including me.
- I make sure I plan regular periods I log off of social media for consecutive days on end.
- I take all offenses to Lord. In a space like social media the rules are still being made. Someone will post something and you may think it’s about you, spiritual or not. I personally will see something online and write a post sharing my thoughts or God’s views and someone will find it offensive. We can only take these offenses to the Lord, unless you actually know and converse with them or are lead to contact the author, if not lead its best to take it to God who can pacify our feelings.
All in all, my daily prayer is may God gives us wisdom on how we navigate these spaces. As believers God is counting on us to set a precedent for future generations by helping claim these areas for Good and for God.
Thanks for reading.
Weigh in below in the comment area: What are you struggles or things you love about social media?
In His Love,
