When 900 Million People Are Watching You

How do you feel when you stand before a crowd with all eyes on you?  Do your palms get cold and clammy?  Do you become nervous and anxious?  Do you blush, tremble, shake, or get nauseous?  Multiple sources indicate that 90 percent of all people deal with some level of stage fright (Vijai P. Sharma).  So chances are pretty good that you deal with some degree of stage fright.  However, this article is not about overcoming stage fright.  Even though 90% of people deal with this issue, there is at least one stage where the vast majority of people feel no fright at all!

This stage is none other than Facebook.  Last month, Facebook exceeded the 900 million active user mark.  This means that there are potentially 900 million people able to watch you and see exactly what you say and do.  Are you feeling a little bit of that stage fright coming back?  Most people are very careful in front of a crowd but may not be on Facebook and other social media avenues.

God has always called His people to be different from everyone else (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Timothy 2:21; etc).  The question for us is, do our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest accounts reflect this?  Here are several categories to consider:

What Do We Say and Post?  Are there any words on our accounts that reflect a less than Christian behavior?  Could someone look at our profiles and see bad language, gossip, slander, or other forms of crude and crass speech (2 Corinthians 12:20; James 3)?

What People and Activities Do We “Like” (Support)?  Do we “Like” celebrities, athletes, artists or other people with trashy reputations?  Do we support movies, music, TV shows, video games, or other things that are not Christ-like (Romans 12:2)?

What Pictures Are On Our Profiles?  Do any pictures show us engaging in sin or other less than godly behaviors (Romans 13:13-14)?  Do any pictures show us hanging with people or in places a Christians should not be (1 Corinthians 15:33)?  Do any pictures of us or anyone else on our profiles display immodesty or promote lust (1 Timothy 2:9-10; Romans 13:13; Matthew 5:28)?

In Matthew 5:14-16, God has called us to be a light in the darkness.  There is nothing further and more contrasting to darkness than light.  Do the things we say, post, support, and depict on social media sites show that we are a light to this world, or show that we are dabbling in darkness?  Potentially 900 million people can see what we put on our social media profiles depending on privacy settings.  What kind of conclusions will they make about us?  Will they even know we are Christians?

We must always be careful to be Christ-like in all parts of our lives. Whether it is out in public or online, may we always live by Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”

3 Months Without Cell Phones and Social Media

Jake Reilly, a 24-year-old copywriting student made a bold decision.  He suspended his cell phone service, deactivated all social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Spotify, etc), quit watching TV, and even put up an “out of office” automated message on his two email accounts.  His goal was to see what life would be like to live completely unplugged for three months.

You may be asking, “Why?”  He made this decision when he and his two roommates had their best friends come into town.  These were friends they only saw once a year or so.  All six of them sat down to watch a basketball game.  Jake looked around and noticed every single person had out a laptop or cell phone.  No one was talking to each other or really even watching the game.  One was playing Words With Friends, another Angry Birds, and another was doing online trivia.  Jake observed, “This was what we were all looking forward to, and we’re just sitting here numbing our minds” (Yahoo News).  Reilly then made the decision to go off the grid for the next three months.

He had to walk across the street to the hospital to use the telephone.  He began writing letters with actual paper, ink, and hand cramps.  He began riding his bike around the city.  He would even meet with friends to have actual face-to-face conversations.  He began connecting with people and building lasting relationships and memories.  Doing this even helped Jake reconnect with his long-time girlfriend, a relationship that had become almost nonexistent.  Cutting off electronics for three months changed the way Jake viewed life.  He came to realize that these tools can be great, but we need to be aware of the way we negatively use them and how harmful they can be to our relationship with others and ourselves.

I don’t know about you, but I have often been guilty of pouring my time and energy into the black hole of technology and social media.  I’m not saying all of this is bad.  Many of the social media tools we have are awesome.  In fact, these tools have allowed us to reach and teach people about Christ like never before.  But there must be a limit.  It’s just so easy to get sucked into pointless games, videos, information, etc.  How often do we, after playing Angry Birds for an hour, say, “Wow, that sure was a memorable, enriching, and beneficial experience”?

I think we have to ask ourselves some hard questions.  If we cut down the amount of time we spent using technology and social media…

• How much more productive would we be at work, school, home, etc?
• How much better could our relationship with our parents, spouse, of friends be?
• How much better could our relationship with the Lord be?

Clearly there are some changes that need to be made.  So, what can we do to fix this?  Here are a few challenges for all of us (including myself) to implement.

1. Turn Off All Technology During Family Time.  This means during meals and at restaurants.  This means during family outings, games, hikes, devotionals, etc.  Actually spend time talking about your day and building relationships.  Often I see couples at restaurants (young and old) glued to their phones without saying a single word to each other.  What kind of relationship is that building?
2. Start Giving Full Attention To People.  Put down the phones and computers and give someone your 100%, undivided attention.  One of the largest problems in marriages and relationships is communication.  Half-listening while retreating to our phones, TVs, and computers surely isn’t helping.  What is so important on the phone, TV, or computer that we are sacrificing our relationships for it?
3. Choose a Time to Unplug.  Just get away from it all.  Maybe this is once a month, maybe this is once a week.  It’s hard to realize how addicted we are to technology until we actually step away from it.  We will learn a lot about ourselves, how dependant or addicted we are, and how much time we are wasting.

With so many distractions from technology and social media, it has become so easy to get distracted from our purpose in this life.  Christ said to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and also to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39).  Is the way we use technology hurting this purpose?  Is the amount of time we spend using technology hurting this purpose (Ephesians 5:15-16)?  If so, I hope and pray we will make the necessary changes.