How to Keep Your Christian Cool on Social Media

My experience on the ground, physically interacting with humans from different backgrounds, tells me that people are not that bad after all. Everybody is so kind and understanding, you would insist that there is nothing called a bad person. But wait, get your smart device and log into your social media account. Read the posts, watch the videos of the latest trends, take time to scroll through the comments and be horrified by the hatred, anger and insults that you will find. It’s a totally different world, you would swear they are not the same humans you meet on the ground. What saddens me more is that even we who proudly wear the Christian badge somehow suddenly throw away all that as soon as we are online. As if being a believer in Christ does not apply on the internet. I have taken time and thought about this, and discovered that we need some Christian social media manners. That is, if we ever care about being effective representatives for our Saviour. Here are some of them…

Get your goals straight

Some of us got into Social media just because it seemed like a cool thing to do in this day of technology. However, I think we need to go back to the question: why am I on Twitter in the first place? Is there a specific reason or are you just there? That question will help a lot in the way you conduct yourself when you are on the platform.

Share constructive content

Hanging on the previous point is the question: what are we sharing in these platforms? Indeed, some of us are naturally reserved people – we would rather not share anything at all. I am trying to come to terms with that, but still, I cannot. Because I am of the opinion that Christianity thrives on active communication. It is not just the job of my pastor to communicate Christian truth, but we all must do it, and social media is the perfect platform for that. It’s not enough to be just a passive consumer without offering anything in return. Then there are others of us who are very busy on these platforms – not with Gospel content but sharing stuff like comedies and everything else on the web. I mean, is Christ not that important that we prioritise spreading worldly gospels? So please, make use of your social media account and share something that can spiritually benefit someone, somewhere. You don't have to be the content creator, but you can use the available content to push it further to others. How about that, my dear believing friend?

Disagree respectfully

The most hideous side of human nature is found in the comment section of these media platforms. That is where people reveal who they are. Right there is where your Christian light must shine through and through. That is, it’s not everything that is posted that you resonate with. In fact, it’s my experience that I disagree with 80% of what I see popping up in my feed. Therefore, we must give room for respect as we engage in these discussions. Whatever you do, do not forget that you are interacting with another human being on the other side of the keyboard; who is also trying their way through life and can be affected severely by your comment. Remember, words have tremendous power in terms of building up or tearing someone’s persona. Says my Bible, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph 4:29).

Keep your emotions in check

Most of what is published online is indeed emotionally disturbing. And our natural tendency is to quickly react and express how displeased we are. Again, I emphasise: keep your Christian cool. If something is deliberately provocative, try to engage the person politely. If they are reasonable enough, you can discuss from there. However, if they don’t seem to care, there is nothing else you can do but to leave them to God. Remember, human nature is inherently evil. That is the way it is. Therefore, don’t be surprised when some people use the internet media to propagate evil. Nevertheless, that does not mean that you must join their animal-like behaviour.

Utilise the private inbox

Have you noticed that people react in a certain way when confronted in public, than they do when approached privately? Hence if you are concerned about a certain individual online, don’t make the mistake of trying to embarrass them publicly, but visit them in their private messaging and show them their error, in a good way. Experientially, I have had a lot of meaningful conversations and even made good friends through the private inbox. Try it for yourself one day.

Here is the summary of this matter: Brothers and sisters in the Lord, it’s not our duty to control what people say, and to whom on social media, nor is it our job to know why citizens suddenly turn into vicious, vengeful monsters on the internet. It is our Christian responsibility, however, to work towards proper, Christ-honouring use of the internet sphere. May we be the light of this world truly, especially on the public platform? It starts with you.

Sinothi Ncube

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