Social media is fun, right? I mean, you're probably reading this from Facebook right now. I will be one of the first to say that I think social media can be used for a lot of good. You can get a message out to a lot of people very quickly. You can keep up with friends & family. You can see a need in the community & respond within minutes to that need. As someone whose job is primarily social media related, I see the good in it. I know the way the gospel can be shared in a public space. Churches can freely speak about Jesus & invite others to events and groups.
Here’s the but…
Humility.
It can be really hard. I’m proud when my daughter learns something new, does a new trick at gymnastics, is just downright sweet. And I have this modern-day newspaper right at my fingertips to tell the world.
And is it wrong that I’m proud of my kiddo? I don’t really think so. But do I need to always broadcast it? I don’t really think so, either. I’m not saying it’s wrong to put happy things on social media. Can you imagine if Facebook turned into a log of all our failures only? It might be a little funny at first & nice to relate to others, definitely wouldn’t be very encouraging or helpful. And I’m not the one to judge any of this, not even close. But I do know that posting my vacation pictures as a flex does not always come from good intentions. Sometimes, I literally want to say "look how cute my family is on the beach." That’s it; that’s the end of the post.
If you’re an avid social media user like me, it can be easy to forget our calling to be humble. Don’t forget to use your platform to encourage and reach others. We don’t have to give up social media, but we do, as Christians, need to take a step back & think about what we are posting and with what intention.
Jesus is calling us to be humble. He shows us in his response at the table and at every other moment. Keep the first thing first.
-Carly, Digital Media Manager & a mom that takes a lot of pictures of her kid