Social Media and Christian Behavior
If we disagree with someone often, we can simply delete or not read their messages. That is not the same as completely shutting them out or cutting them off. They are our family, Christ’s family. How can we even contemplate such unkind, thoughtless, and rude treatment of one Christ loved and died for as He has for us?
Today, Christians deal with many challenges never imagined by those believers who lived in the past. For one, there are many ideologies infiltrating churches that undermine biblical principles and teachings. Yet they are somewhat subtle and sentimentally popular in the world that they receive a fair share of sympathy and acceptance by Christians who have not quite or yet conquered biblical apologetics that reveal the falsehoods inherent in them.
However, and most unfortunately, there is another challenge that might be as equal in detriment to Christian testimony related to love and unity to that of false ideologies. That challenge is social media. Social media includes the proliferation of Facebook, blogs, e-mail, and more. They also involve interactions, discussions, and debates. Just as society has been affected by a coarseness and rudeness in interrelations, so social media has also been greatly affected. The world around us is less friendly and tolerant of disagreements. And some of the reactions and responses represent coarseness and rudeness that involve name calling, vulgar language, malice, sarcasm, and even viciousness. But a more subtle reaction is to block, unfriend, or reject any communications from one another.
I can’t say I’ve seen any Christian respond with vulgar language, malice or viciousness, but I’ve seen and even experienced being blocked, unfriended, or all communications being rejected. What does this say about Christians who completely cut off other Christians from any communications? It is impossible to see any of these as positive responses to Christ’s command, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Such actions are done abruptly to some without any explanation. Was there something said or done that caused such a reaction? If so, wouldn’t it be more in keeping with God’s Word to communicate any such concern that caused one to react in such a radical manner to cut off all communication with another believer? Wouldn’t that allow for perhaps an apology, a change of heart, repentance, and reconciliation? Was some unforgivable offense committed? If this is the case, do we remember how much we have been forgiven by our heavenly Father through Christ? Can we recognize that completely cutting off communication with another believer is indicative of some terrible offense? The question is in such a case, which is the greater offense and who is the true offender? Could the greater offense and real offender be the one who fails to love another Christian as Christ commanded us to love them?
I recently read where some Africans questioned African Christians why they should become Christians when they didn’t treat other African Christians Christianly? It caught my attention, as it goes beyond Africa. Blocking, unfriending, and cutting people off abruptly and completely is happening among American Christians. What a poor testimony to the world!
Remember the song, “They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love?” How we treat one another is revealing to the world around us. The Apostle Peter clearly states what we should be known for:
“Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for
a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one
another from the heart, for you have been born again not of
seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through
he living and enduring word of God.” 1 Peter 1: 22-23
Cutting people off or shutting them out contradictorily relates to “fervently love one another from the heart.”
In another passage, Jesus states: “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return . . .” How can one love one’s enemies when one fails to love fellow believers by cutting off any and all communication?
As Christians, our standards come from above and not from social media or the world. There is never a need to completely block, unfriend, or reject communications from another believer, even if we cannot totally agree with them. We must also resist any possible envy of the well-acceptance of believers to others we might not experience. If we disagree with someone often, we can simply delete or not read their messages. That is not the same as completely shutting them out or cutting them off. They are our family, Christ’s family. How can we even contemplate such unkind, thoughtless, and rude treatment of one Christ loved and died for as He has for us?
Perhaps it’s necessary to address pastors who receive communications from their congregants. Do you remain open to all in your flock? Hopefully, you do. They need to know you care about them as their shepherd. Even Judas was not cut off or shut out by Jesus. What a lesson for all shepherds.
We’re living in a different world today from yesterday. As Christians, our home is elsewhere, and we are just passing through. The laws of God are higher than the laws of the lands and societies we pass through. To the natural heart, mind, and spirit, it’s impossible to keep those higher laws. But God the Holy Spirit is here with us in our trekking through social difficulties. He fills us with the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience. kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, self-control . . .” (Galatians 5: 22,23) Possessing His fruit is what enables us to never give up on one another and to “fervently love one another from the heart.”
Let’s obey Christ’s second great commandment to love one another as He has loved us and never allow social media to affect or diminish our Christian behavior either technically or spiritually.
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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Facing Weariness
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Heb. 12:3–4)
Every year in the Atlanta area, thousands gather to participate in the 10K Peachtree Road Race. For the novice runner all goes well until “Cardiac Hill.” It’s a steep incline in front of Piedmont Hospital where an unprepared participant will grow tired because of the difficulty. They may also become distracted by the hotdogs and doughnuts that are available throughout the race. It’s easy to allow faintheartedness to set in when the distance is long and there are diversions along the way.
The writer of the book of Hebrews warned against this in the Christian life. Some of the professing believers who received the letter were being pressured to abandon Christianity and withdraw to a respectable Jewish religion. They were about to stop short of the finish line. They were spiritually sapped, given what was going on around them. And so often, as Christians, that can happen to us. We can become fatigued and disillusioned on our journey from this life to the next. That can be true for the person dealing with declining health, parents raising children, or as we wrestle with sin. Weariness is something we all face.
What are we to do when it occurs? Our tendency is to focus on our problems or to let our eyes be directed to worldly comforts. Doing these things only makes matters worse, however. But in Hebrews 12:3–4, we are told how the remedy to weariness is affectionately meditating on Jesus, particularly in two ways.
Consider Christ Who Endured Hostility
First, as we encounter many dangers, toils, and snares, we must remember that Jesus also went through them. Specifically, He endured opposition. His life from beginning to end was filled with conflict. Not long after Jesus was born, Herod tried to kill Him (Matt. 2:15–16). Religious leaders sought His demise (Mark 3:6). The Romans crucified Him (John 19:16–23). He felt the animosity of many. Yet Jesus kept going. He didn’t let the enmity of enemies deter Him from His course. -
Elisha, God’s Servant, is Dead
Let us answer the call of the Lord, serve our neighbors with love, and fear, trust, and love the Lord above all else. Then, we shall take up the mantle of Elisha, answer the call of the Lord, carry out the work of the Lord, and hear at the end of our days, just as certainly Elisha heard, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year.
II Kings 13:20 NKJV
During a recent sermon on Isaiah 38 and the sickness of Hezekiah, our church was reminded of the reality of death for the enemies of God as well as for the friends of God. “Death spread to all men, because all sinned.” With only two exceptions among mortal men, Enoch and Elijah, all who ever lived eventually died. Where are Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joshua, Rehab, David, Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Peter, Mary, John, Paul, and the whole host of Bible era saints? They are not with us for they have gone to sleep in the Lord. They have died. Likewise, Elisha, faithful servant of God for more than sixty years, eyewitness to the great miracles of God in Israel, preacher of the Word of God, defeater of the Syrian armies, counsellor to kings, watchman over the church of the Lord is not with us for Elisha died, and they buried him.
The death of a faithful example in the faith should cause us to analyze our own lives. The Lord has appointed for men once to die and afterward the judgment. The Day of the Lord is hastening on.
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Do You Know What A Woman Is? Ketanji Brown Jackson Doesn’t.
The problem here is that this basic structure of reality is at odds with ascendant transgender ideology, which says that being a man or a woman is entirely disconnected from biological realities but rather is rooted in what a person thinks themselves to be at any given moment. If a biological male thinks he’s a woman, then he is a woman. If a biological female thinks she’s a man, then she’s a man. Thinking makes it so!
The video at the bottom of this post is queued up to an extraordinary exchange that occurred at yesterday’s [03/22/22] Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Senator Marsha Blackburn asks Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson if she can define what a woman is. Here’s a transcript of what they said, and you’re not going to believe it.
Blackburn: Do you agree with Justice Ginsburg that there are physical differences between men and women that are enduring?
Jackson: Um, Senator. Respectfully, I’m not familiar with that particular quote or case, so it’s hard for me to comment as to whether…
Blackburn: Okay… Do you interpret Justice Ginsburg’s meaning of “men” and “women” as male and female?
Jackson: Again, because I don’t know the case, I don’t know how I’d interpret it. I need to read the whole…
Blackburn: Okay. Can you provide a definition for the word woman?
Jackson: Can I provide a definition? No.
Blackburn: Yeah.
Jackson: I can’t.
Blackburn: You can’t?
Jackson: Mm. Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.
If there is a better exemplar of our times, I don’t know what it is. Here we have a Supreme Court nominee who either can’t or won’t offer a definition of what a woman is. Why? Because she claims that she’s not a biologist. Really? I guess that explains why I couldn’t make a sandwich today. I gave up when I realized that I wasn’t a baker and couldn’t confirm the identity of the bread in my pantry.
Okay, okay. I know I’m descending into the absurd here, but you get my point. Do you have to be a vet to recognize a dog? Do you have to be a butcher to recognize ground beef? This line of reasoning is indeed absurd, but here we are. And it’s probably a good time for us to take the full measure of the moment we are living in.
Have we really come to the point that a sitting judge and nominee for the highest court in the land cannot define what a woman is? Think how fast transgender propaganda has taken root in our culture that this very basic question would produce a blank stare and an “I don’t know” from a sitting judge.
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