Resisting the Urge

Social Media can be a dangerous place. 

It can be so easy to fall into the trap of debating beliefs with others in the comments section of a post. 

But this is no place for important debates.

I recently read a post, as well as some of the comments, that both saddened and angered my soul.

Sad for what the world is coming to—that everything is about me, me, me, me, and my happiness.

Even those that claim Christ sometimes have this mindset; that is what saddens me most.

This mindset couldn't be more wrong.

When we become a Christian, we no longer live for ourselves, we live for God.

It's no longer about what makes us happy, but about glorifying God.

There are so many references in the Bible about this. Here are just a few: 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galations 2:20

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Romans 6:22

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1-2 is one of the reasons this saddens me so much.

It is fellow brothers and sisters in Christ conforming to the world, which can only lead to destruction.

"Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, form the Spirit will reap eternal life." Galations 6:8

As I continued to read the comments, I started getting angry at all the hate, fighting, and worldly comments—people without God's truth or have not studied God's word enough to understand its meaning, or just choose to reject it.

And this. This is where I encourage you to resist the urge.

Resist that burning fire inside that you have to speak Truth, but get nowhere.

Don't get me wrong. Spreading God's truth is so very important, but we also need to spread his love.

Just speaking truth to someone, someone you have no relationship with, over social media will always be a loosing battle. 

We have a relationship with Christ and the best way to spread his truth and love - the Gospel message - is to first build relationships with others as well.

Without that relationship established, you will come across as some rando that they don't care about butting in your opinions and beliefs they don't share.

If you have a relationship with the person first, they will be more willing to listen to what you have to say.

You'll have built a mutual respect and understanding of one another, which will allow them to know you're not saying these things from a place of judgement or a self-righteous attitude, but from love, even if they end up never agreeing with you.

That's God's job. We are just the messengers, but He softens hearts and gives understanding of his Word in order for others to choose Him.

So next time you get fired up as you read through a thread of toxic comments and want to respond, I encourage you to take a breath and close the tab. 

"Be like Elsa. Let it go." Dean Winchester, Supernatural.