What would Jesus say on social media

What Would Jesus Say
on Social Media?

Keep ItShut: What to Say, How to
Say It, and When to Say
Nothing at All
If you play the fool and
exalt yourself, or if you plan
evil, clap your hand over
your mouth! - Proverbs
30:32

Here it is, translated for
social media: “If you are
tempted to slam someone
online or brag on Facebook
or send off a nasty tweet,
turn off the screen and walk
away!”
That’s it in a nutshell, but
maybe we should spell out
some rules of thumb that
might keep our thumbs and
fingers from wandering off
into slander, arrogance, or
combativeness. Here are six
that work for me.

1. Pray Before You
Post
A young Lady  wrote a
great online devotional in
which she talked about how
many people run to check
their Facebook page first
thing in the morning. She
encouraged her readers to
instead make sure they
consulted their “Faithbook”
first — the Bible. How true
this is! Perhaps if we spent
time ingesting words of
truth before we switched on
the computer, we might not
write things that are unkind
or hurtful. At the very least,
we should whisper a prayer
before we post, asking the
Holy Spirit to tap on our
hearts if we are tempted to
post anything online that
would not glorify him.

2. Imagine the
Recipient Sitting Next
to You
The Internet is so
impersonal. We see tiny
little thumbnail photos of
people. We see words typed
out on a screen rather than
hear them spoken out loud.
The pixels-and-pictures
environment almost
compels us to be rude
because it lacks the subtle
social cues — the wince, the
moment of quiet — that tell
us we’ve crossed the line.
We feel empowered and
also have a sense of
anonymity as we tap, tap,
tap away on our keyboards.
But if a flesh-and-blood
person were sitting next to
us with eyes we could look
into, perhaps we would
state things differently.
Before you post, ask
yourself if you would say
things differently if the
person to whom you’re
writing were actually sitting
next to you.

3. Remember: When
You’re Online, You’re
Also on Stage
Unless we send a private
message, our online words
are available for others to
see. Twitter followers see
what we tweet. Facebook
friends, and the friends of
those on whose walls we
post comments, also see
what we say. And hundreds,
if not hundreds of
thousands, of people can
see a comment we leave on
someone’s blog. This reality
should certainly cause us to
pause before we post —
especially if there is even a
remote possibility we might
later regret what we write. If
I say something in person
to a friend and am later
convicted I was wrong, I can
go back to my friend and
apologize. However, if I post
something on social media
or comment on a blog and
later want to retract it, I
have no way to chase down
all of the people who might
have seen the original
comment. Just this fact
alone should cause us to
really weigh our words
before we type them out.

4. Ask Yourself If
You’ve Earned the
Right to Address the
Subject at Hand
If friends on Facebook are
hashing through a hot-
button issue of the day, do
you have any expertise in
the area, or are you only
slinging an underinformed
opinion? We can’t always be
an expert on every topic at
hand, so when we aren’t, we
might do well to refrain
from commenting at all.

5. Ask Yourself If You
Have a Close Enough
Relationship with the
Person to Warrant
Offering Your Opinion
It both irks me and makes
me laugh when I see who
hops on my page to offer
their unsolicited opinions.
Suddenly, people I haven’t
heard from in years pop up
on my screen offering their
pixelated opinion about
something I’ve posted. They
give me specific instructions
and pointed advice on what
I should believe about a
particular topic. This always
surprises me because I
don’t have a close
relationship with these
folks. Why do they think I
will take their advice or
value their perspective on
my issues when they have
not been a close friend or
confidant?
Would they be responsive to
unsolicited advice if
someone they knew years
ago suddenly walked up to
them on the street and
started telling them what to
believe and how to act? If
you’re tempted to dole out
unsolicited advice to anyone
who’s not a trusted friend,
then I encourage you to
resist the temptation!

6. When You Do
Speak, Let Your
Speech Be Laced with
Grace
No need for snark. No need
for angry words or critical
comments. Our mamas were
right: If we can’t say
something nice, we
shouldn’t say anything at
all.
When we do speak, we can
choose to be gracious rather
than accusatory or negative.
Our words must glorify God
and not just exalt our own
opinions.
We should be especially
mindful that there are
people whom we don’t know
who might be viewing our
online speech. Here is a
great guideline from
Scripture:
Be wise in the way you act
toward outsiders; make the
most of every opportunity.
Let your conversation be
always full of grace,
seasoned with salt, so that
you may know how to
answer everyone. -
Colossians 4:5-6
So maybe we should jot
down these questions on a
sticky note or two and post
them near the computer to
remind us to ask:
Is this comment wise?
Will writing this comment
help me display God’s love
to outsiders?
Is this comment full of
grace?
Is this comment seasoned
with salt?
Have I asked God if this is
the best response?
Excerpted from Keep it Shut

Have you ever read through
comments on social media
and been stunned by the
meanness? Have you ever
wanted to engage and zing
someone back or offer your
own criticism or negative
remarks? Have you ever
found yourself in a battle
online and been shocked at
what you were willing to
say? How do you think Jesus
would interact with others
on social media? What
would He say and not
say?