{"id":37250,"date":"2013-02-18T20:37:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T02:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=37250"},"modified":"2021-08-15T20:39:23","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T01:39:23","slug":"the-christian-and-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-christian-and-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christian and Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by David Maxson<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 17:27).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Like it or not, social media is here to stay.<\/p>\n<p>While we shouldn&#8217;t overreact to the dangers of this new media, we must not ignore them either. There needs to be more discussion about social media. I found online some good rules that I wanted to share:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Be careful before you hit send (James 1:19-20; Proverbs 10:19; 15:2; 21:23). Could your message be taken the wrong way? Does this need to be kept private? Will it needlessly offend someone?<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t vent anger (James 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:26-27; Proverbs 14:29; 29:11). Don&#8217;t air family problems or church issues online. If you&#8217;re angry at someone, go speak to them personally. The rest of us don&#8217;t need to know.<\/li>\n<li>Never lie (Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9-10; Revelation 21:8). And embellishment is the same as lying.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t glorify self (Matthew 6:5, 7, 16; Proverbs 25:27; 26:12). Hide the good you do. Advertise what is done for you. Give glory to God instead.<\/li>\n<li>Watch out for ungodly influences (I Corinthians 15:33; II Timothy 2:16-18; II Peter 2:18-20). Beware of worldly ideas, false teaching, filthy language, dirty jokes, and gossip.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t let this become an addiction (I Corinthians 6:12). It can easily take over your life if you&#8217;re not careful.<\/li>\n<li>Protect your marriage (Proverbs 7:5-27). The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says 81 percent of its members have used or faced evidence plucked from social networking sites in the past five years.<\/li>\n<li>Use social networking to God&#8217;s glory (Mark 16:15; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6; Matthew 5:14-16). There are so many positive ways we can use this new media. Let&#8217;s use it to advance God&#8217;s cause, not the Devil&#8217;s.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Father, protect us from the evils of social media. May you be glorified in every email, tweet, and Facebook comment we post this day.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by David Maxson &#8220;Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding&#8221; (Proverbs 17:27). Like it or not, social media is here to stay. While we shouldn&#8217;t overreact to the dangers of this new media, we must not ignore them either. There needs to be more&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[981,1361],"class_list":["post-37250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-communication","tag-social-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94409,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/scrolling\/","url_meta":{"origin":37250,"position":0},"title":"Scrolling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II Timothy 3:1-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Maya sits down. She just needs a quick break before getting back to work. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She pulls up her social media on her phone, and her thumb naturally begins the familiar, rhythmic motion of scrolling the content upward. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Soon, she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59988,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/responding-to-others-comments\/","url_meta":{"origin":37250,"position":1},"title":"Responding to Other&#8217;s Comments","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Among the works of the flesh are strife, outbursts of anger, dissensions, and divisions (Galatians 5:20). There seems to be a great deal of this in the world, and that should not surprise us. But there also seems to be much of this among those claiming to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/angry-tweet-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8771,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-anger\/","url_meta":{"origin":37250,"position":2},"title":"Notes on Anger","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Psalms 37:8 Proverbs 15:1 Proverbs 29:11 Matthew 5:22 II Corinthians 12:20 Galatians 5:20 Ephesians 4:26-27 Ephesians 4:31 Colossians 3:8 James 1:19-20 see Notes on Patience see\u00a0Notes on Vengeance","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Notes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42846,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/angry-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":37250,"position":3},"title":"Angry Words","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible speaks of two types of anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The quick, fly-off-the handle, hot tempered anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The slow, methodical, vengeful anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Both are dangerous for different reasons \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Colossians 3:8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Orge (anger) is the slow building type of anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Thumos (wrath) is the passionate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23996,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-words-we-speak\/","url_meta":{"origin":37250,"position":4},"title":"The Words We Speak","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:17-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a Proverb that stands out in my mind - Proverbs 26:18-19 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You cannot cover up lies with a claim that you were making a joke. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We are judged by what we say, even the casual things said without much thought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5210,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/objections-to-spanking\/","url_meta":{"origin":37250,"position":5},"title":"How dare you use Solomon&#8217;s writings to justify spanking!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The fact that your website tells parents to strike or hit (you call it spanking) children of any age is bizarre and totally sick. I never have read anything where Jesus strikes a child out of anger or discipline. If you refer to \"spare the rod\" that was Solomon,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37250\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}