Social media is filled with lots of anti-god thinking and living, and your tween or teen is certainly exposed to these philosophies if they’re engaging in the latest platform. The shepherding parent is not reactive in this reality – they are being proactive. They are actively shepherding their teen towards a Biblical model of participation and engagement when it comes to social media.
Thankfully, the Bible gives us clear direction on how we can be interacting with others. I want to present to you 4 truths that we should be adopting when it comes to social media, based on Ephesians 5:1-2:
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Truth #1: Be Real. (“Be imitators of God”).
It is so easy in our media decisions to imitate other people and their likes and dislikes. But God commands us in this verse to imitate him. That means when imitating God compels us to be real in our dealings with him and others. We’re not presenting ourselves differently than who we are.
Did you know that almost 9% of social media users lie on social media about social status, life events, and activities?When we present ourselves on social media as something other than what we are (or believe), then we are presenting something that isn’t true. So even though we would say we despise hypocrites, often the biggest hypocrite is looking at us in the mirror.
What we should be striving for in all our interactions and helping our teen to develop is wise authenticity. Wise, meaning, we aren’t airing all our dirty laundry to the world. Authenticity meaning, we are not creating personas that are inconsistent with reality – where we are constantly seeking validation from people because of what we’re posting.
Ask your teen:
- What are some easy ways we allow our friends to control how we post on social media? Do we find ourselves constantly trying to keep up with them?
So,
Be Real.
But also:
Truth #2: Be Loving. “Walk in Love”.
As Christians, our attitude toward others is to be an attitude of love.”
Social media can be such a cesspool of inflammatory comments and hatred. As believers, we are called to walk in love. We don’t get to say whatever we want to whomever we want just because it’s not in person and delivered electronically.
This also means we allow love for others to be the guide even in things that we post. We are not to be a source of stumbling to others by what we post.
This is what Paul was talking about in Romans 14:15:
“For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”
Another way to state this could be:
“For if your brother is grieved by what you post, you are no longer walking in love. By what you post, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”
Ask Your Teen:
- What are some ways we may be acting unloving by how we engage with people on social media?
- What are some ways you can show love on social media, as well as in your general media decisions?
Be Real. Be Loving.
Truth #3: Elevate Others. “Gave Himself”.
The statement “gave himself” is an incredible summary of the entire life of Jesus. But if you look at the verse, there was an object to the giving: us. He used his life to advance our cause. Could the same be said of us? Do we live to put others first? Is our social media all about putting others first. Is our social media use really a summary of how we approach life in general, and if so, what does that say about us?
In life, and especially in media/social media, our attitude should be to elevate others and dethrone ourselves. We are to be putting the interests of others first. Often on social media, it can be the opposite.
Ask Your Teen:
- Is it possible to talk about yourself in a non-selfish way? How? When does it cross the line into selfishness?
- If people are genuinely concerned about others, how could they demonstrate that with how they interact with people on social media?
So:
Be Real. Be Loving. Elevate Others.
Truth #4: Testify. “Sacrifice to God”
Jesus lived to honor his heavenly Father. He did nothing for himself (John 5:19) but used his life to accomplish the Father’s will and point people towards him. He was eager to help other people get closer to his Father.
That’s a great example for us, not just in our regular communication with people, but in our social media presence. Amazingly, some Christians rarely talk about God on things like social media, when social media is a captive audience of people who read what is written. For the people that are sharing Jesus on things like social media, there are no doubt countless people learning more about God and coming to him because of the internet.
The world doesn’t need more teens that are afraid to talk about what they believe (there are plenty of those already). What the world desperately needs is students who are lovingly bold about their faith – they are not cowards. Too many Christians would claim a willingness to share their faith but they’re “waiting for the right opportunity.” Well, sometimes that is camouflage for “I’m a chicken.”
Jesus’ life was not to promote him; Jesus’ purpose was to glorify his heavenly Father. His life was a sacrifice to God – literally.
Ask Your Teen:
- What are some ways that you could occasionally interject what you believe into your social media posts?
- Why do we have an easy time talking about movies and video games but a difficult time talking about the Lord?
- Use the concepts we covered from Ephesians 5:1-2 to guide your thoughts: in your own words write why not being a hypocrite, being loving, putting others first, and representing Christ well guides integrity in media.
There’s a lot more relating to media to discuss with your teen. My book Making Sense of Media can help you (it’s now $6.99 on Amazon):
