The Facebook Status

All I had to do was click post.   I had spent time choosing the right words, putting them together just so to made my point.  I had found a scripture verse that related to the situation, and had added lyrics from a Third Day song to really bring it home.  It was totally passive aggressive, but this person would definitely know my status was about them.

But just as I went to click post status, something stopped me cold.

How could I use God’s word against someone?

I had almost succumbed to a dangerous temptation. My feelings had been deeply hurt by this person. I felt justified in posting my status on Facebook because this person had done things to deliberately hurt my family. I felt it was my place to let them (and everyone else who read it) know that I knew what kind of person they were, and that I wasn’t going to stand for their behavior.

Satan had gotten a hold of me, and my heart and I couldn’t type fast enough to get my hurt out.

Boy did it hurt when I fell off my high horse.

I suddenly realized that not only had I fallen into a deep pit of sin by judging someone so harshly, but I was about to make myself an example of Satan’s power and not of God’s love.  Ouch.

Although my anger and hurt were justified, the actions I wanted to take were not.  I wanted to pay this person back  for the hurt they had caused my family, but I realized that wasn’t my place to do that.  I quickly erased everything I had written.

What good could have possibly come from it once I hit “post status”?

I immediately logged out of my Facebook account.

 

Did I really think it was okay to use Scripture in bitterness to make my hurtful point? 

Did I really believe that my subtly harsh words would bring truth to the situation?

Did I really approve of the message I would send to Facebook community about Christianity?

Have you ever made a post on Facebook that you immediately came to regret?

I am so thankful that I didn’t post that status that day.  Because my hurt was so raw, my intentions were not good.  I had set out with the intention to cause hurt, not to bring healing.  You and I were both made to be examples of Christ and His love.  That post would have been nothing but Satan’s handiwork.

I should have never tried to use God’s Word  to make my point in that way.  I should have trusted God to handle the situation, not taken to Facebook in the hopes that my status would magically transform this person in some sort of light bulb moment.

It’s not my place to do God’s job.

The next time you go to post a status update, ask yourself the following:

  1.  Does this post reflect my beliefs and my faith?
    • Am I getting wrapped up in something that doesn’t reflect my spiritual beliefs?
  2.  If someone from my church or family were to read this, what would they think?
    • Am I posting pictures or statuses that have language or other suggestive material in them?
  3. Am I posting this status with the intention to hurt someone else?
    • Am I representing the kingdom of God in the way that I should?
  4. Will I look back and regret posting this?
    • Are others getting the wrong impression of who I worship?

We all do and say things that we don’t mean.  But, we need to be cautious about how we represent God’s kingdom.  We want others to see the love of Christ in us, and not turn them away based on our Facebook actions.

“He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”

Proverbs 21:23 NIV

{Moms, would you like so more ideas for how to handle Facebook with your tweens and teens?  Check out Grace Rules for some guidance!}

 

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2 thoughts on “The Facebook Status”

  1. Ha! I had a mind to do something like this just this morning but decided against it. Reading your post now confirms my decision and the reasons for not doing it. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Great points! If a post were going to be seen by someone we had been encouraging and sharing with about God’s love, forgiveness, grace, and mercy, would it truly represent what we had been sharing?

    I think we do ourselves and our faith a big disservice when we succumb to such temptation. Thanks for spelling it out and giving us much to think about!

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