I do marketing for a living and sometimes I wish I didn’t. I don’t wish this because I don’t love what I do; I just feel sometimes that my newsfeeds are way too much and I would love to take a social media vacation — forever.
Day after day, I see people posting about hatred, videos of people beating each other up, debating about being too fat or too skinny, debating terms like “transable” or “transgender” or “transracial,” law enforcement bashing, passive aggressive updates about “someone” who is not to be named or even worse, they name the person publicly and shame them on an open forum.
Just writing this is giving me a headache, never mind scrolling through all this noise daily to sift out the good bits. God showed me how often that it’s not even what we say, it’s also about the information we choose to share or not share. What are we loosing on earth and what are we holding captive?
Our words, images, memes, videos and communications are intrinsically tied to our hearts, and that is where Jesus lives, between the religious and the outcasts. So I too, must learn how to channel my thoughts, words and actions so no matter my emotional state, others are not affected negatively by what I do or say (easier said than done). And I can’t just run away from it, I’ve tried that and paid for that.
As I prayed for a topic, and this topic came in full force, He asked me: What has our SOCIETY (built on the foundation of the word of God) become? Why do we share things that we know (in our gut) can cause hate and anger when really what everyone needs and wants is LOVE? Why do we hurt those we love the most?
Love conquers all things, which is why God sent Jesus. God LOVES Jesus so much, and he LOVES us so much that he sacrificed what he most LOVES to show the world how much he LOVES it. He did those things out of love for us. When we speak and share things, is it to help and show love to others?
God used ONE person. I am one person.
So what do we do if all we want is love and to be loved? Maybe we could GIVE love, SPEAK love, SHOW love, and then others will FEEL love. If everyone did that starting right now, we would change our world in an instant.
God asked me this: When a negative thought pops in your head, do you think about the people you love before you say, post or share it? How would they feel reading it or hearing it? If you are talking about someone to someone else, would your message sound loving to the person it is about? Can it be repeated without blame or hurt or hatred? Would you feel loved if it were about you?
Our fascination with being entertained, and getting instant gratification, causes a chain reaction. We lose discipline in all areas of our lives by spewing out unfiltered thoughts, being lazy, sometimes causing pain and more chaos, even though it is often unintended.
God tells us to hold our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). He did not say – blurt out our thoughts through voice or written word with disregard for the message or the receiver. The truth is that the Bible itself contains highly thought-out passages that were written from the teaching of God himself.
Whether a person believes in God or not, their words carry weight. That means your words carry weight. That is how we were created. Even if you don’t believe in God, you know that the principles in the Bible hold true, no matter if you like it or not. We are born into this world as it was created, which means the words in the Bible carry a weight that no man can stifle.
What does that look like and why does it matter, especially on social media? Maybe we think, “I will just post this because this thing is bugging me and that person will just know it’s for them and then I wont have to confront a situation,” and the excuses for posting nasty memes or quotes or thoughts is justified. Maybe it’s a mean-funny joke, or maybe we post negative thoughts about ourselves.
Wisdom is what I pray for so I can stop, hold my thoughts captive, and then decide what to do. It sounds so simplistic, but it works when I submit to the process. I have to choose this consciously every day, or it doesn’t happen.
Yesterday, it didn’t happen, and today I’m sharing this for God’s purpose.
Proverbs 2 was written by Solomon, David’s son, who reigned from 970-930 B.C. and he wrote it for the young men of Israel to share God’s word about wisdom, after he was blessed with it himself.
For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. – Proverbs 2:5 – 11
Discretion and understanding start with your thoughts, then those thoughts turn to action, turn to words, or die on the vine. Choose to feed the positive and let the negative die.
By staying positive about yourself and others, life will begin to look like Heaven on earth.
