By Edwin D. Arceo
This is the third part of our series on how Christians should behave online. You can read the first part HERE and Part 2 HERE.
7. Do not get angry online. Ever read in the Bible in Ephesians 4:26-27, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” This means that your anger can lead you to sin, and eventually giving the enemy control of your life. And when you get angry in social media, you let the world see it. Yes, Jesus allowed everyone in the temple grounds see His anger when He saw the traders and the sellers, but that did not ruin His testimony. In fact, everyone understood what He did. When you get angry on social media due to posts people put on Facebook or Twitter and lash out with hurtful words, what does that show people? Yes, you may have a valid reason but people who don’t know you will not understand and will give them reason to not believe you, a Christian, again, about anything. There has been a lot of bashing and hating traded online and some them were started by angry Christians who are at both sides of the political fence who think that they are right. I’m not judging but many of them have sinned due to their anger.
8. Do not post “blind items.” You do know what a blind item is right? It has its roots on tabloids’ and TVs’ showbiz. To incite controversy, PR people will create and send out news about a celebrity doing something naughty, indecent, obscene, hateful, irritating or gross without naming them. The intention is to pique people’s interests and have them talk about it and make guesses based on the clues written. Its really just malicious and wrong. When Christians are angry at someone, they will vent their feelings on Facebook saying all kinds of pitiful stuff just to get the sympathy of those reading it and making them take sides. Christians, we need to rise from that low level. Let us not showcase our disagreements or wash our dirty laundries online where everyone can see it. Is this what we want the “lost world” to see what Christians truly are? Brothers and sisters, we are not in show business.
9. Do not be judgemental. The fact is, we make judgments all the time. Good and bad. Guess what people remember…all the bad ones. When we see a Facebook post or Tweet or YouTube video, we do not have the right to judge, and post it in the same forum. It will be hateful and divisive…to which Christians are not called to be. Our purpose is to bring the those without hope to Christ not escort them away with our biases and misguided, misinformed misconceptions about people. Every one needs Jesus and everyone is being made righteous and holy by the Holy Spirit. WE are not the Holy Spirit. So do not judge as the Bible says or you to will be judged by the same measure that you do.
10. Do not be presumptuous. Presumptions are beliefs that are made based on reasonable AND probable grounds. Presumptions are not facts…yet. They are incomplete information, that, because of laziness or neglect we decide is truth. People, let us read first, understand the context, make additional research before making online posts that may be detrimental to your relationships. There has been a lot of presumptions floating all around the internet about our President’s declarations, policies, and intentions that Christians making unnecessary harm to themselves and those they love who have the opposite view. Let us not spend our energies making false assumptions that we share online, debating and wasting valuable resources, which is a lot of Christians are doing today.
Jesus said we need to be the light of this world. Sadly we are becoming the darkness of this world who instigate controversies and issues that they cannot take back once they hit “ENTER”. So let us be mindful of what we post online. Let there be compassion and love and the desire that the truth be seen and heard. We need to be respectful of people, of their beliefs and passion.
