Your Social Media Posts I have Hidden in My Heart
Psalm 119:11, 37, 104-105, 176
The majority of people today, myself included, struggle with the lure and captivity of Social Media. While it's not all bad, it can be distracting, cause confusion, and really in the religious world spark heavy criticisms, bickering and horrible actions. Social media has given a voice to every participant, and a sense of "community" to air grievances or make a stand for what they believe in. I myself repentantly have engaged in this type of nonsense. Earlier this year I deactivated my Facebook account after a long battle of back and forth love hate relationship. It became too much for me, and I needed to heal from A LOT.
I'm ashamed to also admit that in effect of deleting Facebook, Instagram filled the void of watching reel after reel after reel. The cute dogs and babies suck me right in and next thing I know it's 1 or 2 in the morning and I have literally wasted away in my bed scrolling through stupidity, commenting dumb things, and crying at strangers whose heart exploded with love at seeing a loved one, or a soldier coming home. In the same sense I have also tried to discern what is true and what is deceitful, are people just making stuff up for the emotion and reaction? Of course they are! The goal is to be an influencer.
So who is influencing me when I start to listen to the specially curated reels that fill my screen of pastors, and speakers, and people who are church hurt, and traumatized by growing up in a strict Christian households? When stories and ads and pictures pop up of all these preachers and teachers that I like and follow want me to sign up for their Bible study, or listen to their devotion of the day, the endless quotes of theologians like C.S. Lewis, R.C. Sproul fill my feed. My brain wants to explode. Everyone has a different hill they want to die on to what Christianity is and should be, and should not be....on and on and on.
I saw a reel today of a guy in the kitchen wanting to make a sandwich and had his phone in his other hand. A reel popped up on his phone that said, don't eat white bread! So he threw the white bread back in the bag and reached for the wheat bread. Again had his phone in his hand and a reel popped up that said, there's too much toxins in wheat bread and he throws the wheat bread back in the bag. He opts to drink Apple Juice and again a reel comes on his phone, Apple Juice is bad for you! Reaches for tap water...and you get the picture. Why do we allow ourselves to live our lives dictated by what a stranger says on these devices that are constantly in our hand? Do we really give more weight to strangers than to God's Word?
That reel resonated with me because of what I just explained earlier. We want to be motivated and challenged to keep ourselves filled with Jesus things and topics. We want to use resources to help us understand better. We hear sermons, then a moment later podcast or teacher seems to contradict. So it's as if to say, "Your social media posts have I hidden in my heart." That isn't going to get us anywhere but chaos. And so we ponder on the excellencies of Scripture, the Word of God. The only place that holds life giving truth. We MUST be in the Bible as much as we are on our phones...and even more. We MUST have His Word in our hearts so when we encounter people around us saying one thing or another we can discern what is truth.
I find it fascinating that people realize the phone and social media makes us sad and want to do away with it but can't because we risk loosing connection. Yet we are okay with loosing connection with God. Your social media posts I have hidden in my heart...that I might sin against God. And that is how we must start looking at it. My addiction of social media obsession with television shows, anything pulling me away from God, and leading me astray from God is sin against God.
Father, we don't want to hide social media in our heart. We don't want this junk taking up space in our minds. Help break the epidemic of these addictions. Give us the courage to put our phones down, and look each other in the face. Give us the security to function. Give rest to the anxious, comfort the lonely. As the Psalmist prayed, "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Establish Your Word in Your servant. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant..." Amen
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