Five Things for Christians on Facebook

Social media is becoming less and less civil, and Christians and churches are not immune. Facebook, for instance, seems to be breeding incivility among siblings in Christ who ignore biblical admonitions to “love one another.”

But social media, and FB in particular, is ingrained in society and impossible to extract. And we really don’t need to. In itself, social media is not a bad thing. But I think we need to be proactive in applying a biblical worldview to our use of social media.

So whether you tweet, share, chat, or post, I would say we need to keep these five things in mind:

1. Post with humility and wisdom. Facebook breeds pride. And pride is our #1 problem (James 4:6). So before you post a link or photo or status online, ask yourself if you are doing this just to prove your success to your high school sweetheart or rub your accomplishments in the face of the watching world. “Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else” (Gal. 6:4)
2. Post with respect and courtesy. Treat people as people, not competition. Especially your loved ones in Christ. To respect people is to affirm their creation as God’s image-bearers, and to be courteous to siblings in Christ is to respect the body of Christ. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes” (Romans 12:17).
3. Post with love and encouragement. “Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10). Seek out opportunities to build up your siblings in Christ. Use FB to encourage other Christians to live for Christ. And if you see a post that exposes a deeper problem, contact that person privately. There’s a time to share on FB, and a time to care in private—discernment means knowing the difference.
4. Post with understanding and honesty. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Be careful not to assume the worst of people, take comments personally, or judge someone’s entire life by an unwise post. And recognize that just because we are Christians, it doesn’t mean we will always agree on cultural and political matters. That’s okay. As long as we agree Jesus is Lord, we are in good shape! “Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor.” “Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters” (Romans 12:10; 14:1),
5. And last, share with discernment and discretion. We declare details about our faith by what we approve. And we demonstrate what we approve by what we share on FB. “And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:9-10). This also means that you check out the facts and your sources before you share or repost on FB.

So what should we being doing on FB? Like all media, social media can be a great tool for believers to bring a Christian perspective to the world. Use Facebook to celebrate, inform, inspire, evangelize, encourage and connect.

And be intentional and thoughtful. With each post and each share and each comment, ask yourself, “Does this honor Christ? Does this advance the Gospel? Does this demonstrate to the world that I am saved by grace through faith, or does it make people wonder if being a Christian really makes any difference at all?”

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Let me know what you think!