SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT EVIL!!
I say it again: Social media is not evil. CNN once reported that a certain pastor told his leaders to delete their Facebook accounts. This church of 1,001 members in NJ had about 20 marriages fall apart in one year because of social media. Apparently, some of its members were reconnecting with old flames, causing marital strains which lead to about 20 lives being torn apart by infidelity and divorce. The pastor is missing the point in using social media. Just like any other tool for connecting socially with people, we must provide guidelines.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Internet in general all have pros and cons. Yet, social media is not evil!! Not using technology because he was afraid that his people would fall into sin or that it would cause more marital discord was a cheap cop out and an insecurity on the pastor's part. I must admit, this really got me steamed because this pastor was not helping fix or solve the problem. He was only putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound that did not need a leadership extreme power maneuver, but needed solid Biblical teaching on marriage, relationships, and proper social networking protocol.
I have heard all the arguments and I have seen the good and the bad of social media networking - which connects real people, with real lives and real issues. Plus, I am an advid TGIF User: Twitter, Google, Instagram, Facebook.
MYSELF
I just recently turned off multiple social media updates on my cell, due to the volume I was getting. With receiving so many, I found it a bit challenging to get any work done. My mind would drift its attention from working on faith, family, fitness goals and tasks to hearing that alert sound on my phone. Like a 3-year-old boy I would hear the tone and my attention would immediately go to the phone. I would be captivated by Text messages, Emails, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts. It all reminds me of the dog “Doug” in the 2009 movie “UP” - his attention would go away when he saw a squirrel. SQUIRREL!
I am telling you this because I, myself, have had to learn balance in using social media. I have been bitten by the media bug before, as many of us have. Years ago, when I first got my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and my iPhone, I would spend hours on those pages looking for friends, family, acquaintances and cool looking memes. Sometimes hours would pass by and what started out as a 2 PM “quick peek,” turned into an 11:30 PM addiction of information overload. This happened for a few days, then I realized that I was not getting anything done. This was just time wasted that I would never get back. I had to set mental boundaries. Instead of looking at my social media for long periods of time, I had to fight my urge 10 -11 times a day just to check for NEW media posts. Since this realization, I have been striving for more and more balance in this area. It’s a daily decision that I make - just like eating right, working-out hard, etc...
My Thot for today is: Don’t throw social networking out the door. Learn how to use it for God's glory, protect yourself, and your marriage from compromise. As Rick Warren wrote in his book The Purpose Driven Church, “Blessed are the balanced, for they will outlast everyone.” Folks, strive for balance - not only in social media/networking, but in all areas of your life. This will not only save your marriage but all relationships! Comment below and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to receive blog updates in your inbox.
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