The devil has the ability to take things that can be used for good and turn them into tools for evil.  This is certainly true with social media.  It can be used for great good or great evil, depending on the user.  Unfortunately, many use social media in a way that pleases the devil and not God.

I love the internet.  I am literally on the internet every day.  I mainly use it for work (a resource tool for sermons, articles, Bible studies, etc.), as well as a place where I get most of my news.  Who needs to have a physical newspaper delivered to their house (a service that costs money) when we can get just about everything that is in the daily paper online.  I do not even buy too many physical books for Bible study anymore because I can get them for at least half the price as digital books online.  Yes, the internet was quite an invention.  One of the great resources for biblical information are the many church websites easily found on the internet.  Scores of biblical material are just a click away.

Now, while I am not personally into Facebook, Twitter, and those kinds of media outlets, I know how powerful they can be.  Facebook can be a very useful and valuable tool.  Keeping up with family, especially when the world is hit by a global pandemic, is made a little easier when one can get online and communicate, sometimes even face to face.

There is a downside to social media outlets, such as Facebook.  It can be a place where people demonstrate a great deal of questionable behavior.  Facebook is a place where people can openly boast.  I put into a search engine the words “bragging on Facebook” and I got over 5,000,000 results, mostly having to do with people annoyed by others bragging all the time.  I am told, by those who frequent Facebook regularly, that Facebook bragging falls into these categories: spouses, children, beauty, jobs, workouts, vacations, who one knows, even favor with God.

If you are on Facebook, or some other social media outlet, I would warn you to be careful about your posts, and how you are coming across to the thousands of others who are reading them.  I know that not everybody on Facebook, and other similar sites, are guilty of boasting, but I do know that the very setup of most of those sites encourages bragging.  Listen to one of the complaints I came across.

“That’s what Facebook, MySpace, Twitter is all about…”ME” and my fabulous life, which you don’t have. These are places where people go for their 5 seconds of fame.  Think about it–you set up the page to be all about you, what you believe, what you are thinking about, who your friends are, what you are doing. And then you invite other folks to come into your space. It’s very egocentric.”

There are other dangers with social media as well.  Members of the Lord’s church sometimes post pictures of themselves dressed immodestly.  That is never okay.  If you post an immodest picture of yourself online, you cannot control who sees it, and what conclusions they come to about you, as well as the church that you are affiliated with, if you reveal that on the site.

I think you know by my earlier comments that I am not opposed to the internet, and not even to popular social media outlets.  If you use them, I only encourage you to use them wisely, showing some restraint and self-control, and remember, the devil can and does use the internet for evil.   Do not allow him to use you in such a way.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.