This is part 2 in a series of posts.
Part 1: Introduction | Part 2 – Biblical Principles at Stake: Godliness | Part 3: Biblical Principles at Stake: Relationships | Part 4 – Biblical Principles at Stake: Stewardship | Part 5 – Biblical Principles at Stake: Joy & Peace in Christ | Part 6: Why is Social Media & Technology so Addicting? | Part 7: Applications
This material was first presented in a talk at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. Watch it here.
In Part 1 we saw that technology and social media are permissible, but depending on our usage they can be detrimental to us spiritually, emotionally and relationally. Opinions and personal preferences about technology have no authority, but all Christians are called to obey Scripture. Therefore, in the next few posts I will draw out what I consider to be key biblical principles that technology and social media can impede our ability to obey.
Godliness
The first category of biblical principles effected by technology and social media is godliness. All Christians should prioritize growth in godliness. So, let’s look at several areas of godliness that can be detrimentally effected by technology and social media.
Let the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly (Not Social Media)
Paul exhorts Christians in Colossians 3:16 to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly.
However, one of technology’s biggest detriments is its ability to draw our attention away from God’s Word.
Statistics now show that most people check their phones every 4.3 minutes of our waking lives.[1] That is roughly 81,000 times a year. Imagine the effect on our spiritual lives if we went to God’s Word with such fervency. Given the spiritual power God’s Word has in our lives when we dwell on it, we have to assume that Satan has been waiting for something like the smartphone to come along.
Is your phone keeping you from letting God’s Word dwell in you richly? Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.” No such promise of peace is given about staying glued to our phones. We constantly go to our phones to see if we have notifications, but every time we open God’s Word we’re flooded with notifications, notifications of God’s love for us, his faithfulness, his glory and his holiness.
Envy
Scripture also commands us not to be envious of others. The tenth commandment tells us not to covet our neighbor or anything they have.
Yet, how many times have you gotten off social media and thought, “Wow, I’m just so content with what the Lord’s given me!” Social media tends to present only the best parts of people’s lives, making us feel we are alone in our struggles or uniquely poor in how God’s blessed us. As one author put it, “Facebook is the CNN of envy, a kind of 24/7 news cycle of who’s cool, who’s not, who’s up, and who’s down.”[2]
Is our particular level of phone use or social media helping us to give thanks in all circumstances and maintain a level of gratefulness throughout our day? Or is it introducing bitterness and envy into our lives?
Gossip & Slander
Another issue touched by our phones is gossip and slander. The ninth commandment says to not bear false witness against our neighbor. But listen to how the Westminster Larger Catechism defines what it means to obey the ninth commandment: “The ninth command requires the maintaining and promoting of truth between men, and of our own and our neighbor’s good name.” Does social media hinder our ability to promote truth? Does it help us promote the good name of others?[3]
The problem is, being charitable to others is often in conflict with getting likes. A funny burn or strong rebuke of someone online garners more views than a kind and charitable comment. We are greedy for likes and so we often aren’t charitable and maybe even hastily post an untruth and stain the good name of others. But, the rush of likes quickly fades leaving us with the guilt of what we’ve done and a desire to do more harm to others to abate our loneliness.
Proverbs 18:8 says this about gossip: “The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.”
One author said, “If a whisper is a morsel of gossip than social media is an all you can eat buffet.”[4]
Purity
Are our phones helping us pursue sexual purity?
Andy Crouch in his book The Tech-Wise Family cites a statistic that 62% of teens have received a inappropriate image on their phone.[5] I don’t think we have to spend much time talking about the availability and anonymity that smartphones lend to pornography. Porn is more accessible, affordable and anonymous than it has ever been.[6] A smartphone with unrestricted internet access is a doorway into a dark, grotesque and endless library of sexually explicit content.
This is why many parents who choose to give their kids phones don’t apologize for the full transparency they demand. This kind of accountability is decried as intrusive by some, but to a parent who loves their kids this is an act of caring protection against unimaginable evils and pain.
Restricting our phone, deleting apps, removing internet access or even getting rid of our smartphone is not a guarantee of sexual purity, but for many it will significantly help. I can’t think of a more appropriate application of Jesus’ words to cut off your hand if it causes you to sin than limiting or losing a smartphone in order to pursue sexual purity.
Compassion & Empathy
Jesus looked at the self-righteous and prideful rich ruler and “loved him” (Mark 10:21). When Jesus was relentlessly pursued by crowds who wanted him to heal them and teach them he he had compassion on them (Mark 6:34). We are told to imitate Christ (Eph. 5:1) and that includes being compassionate and empathetic toward others. But does our use of technology help us do that?
Sherry Turkle in her book Reclaiming Conversation recounts multiple examples in schools where kids’ empathy and compassion are underdeveloped as a result of spending more time on social media.[7] It seems more time on social media actually can desensitize us to evil and make us more apathetic when it comes to the suffering of others.
This makes sense. You develop compassion and empathy by seeing the sadness on someone’s face and in their body language when you say something mean. Online you don’t have that. You hit send and don’t see the consequences of your words like you do in a face-to-face meeting.
Psalm 115:8 tells us what happens to those who worship man-made gods: “Those who make them become like them; so do those who trust in them.” We become what we worship.
Phones may be colorful, mesmerizing and entertaining, but they are also cold, hard, lifeless. If we allow ourselves to become inordinately captured by them then we become like them. We may say entertaining, catchy things; we may post engaging photos or content, but we also become cold, harsh, emotionless in our judgment and criticism of others online.
When we engage with a person in real life we realize we are speaking to an image bearer, we see the light of God in their eyes.
In Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment there is a drunkard who spends his family’s last penny on alcohol. When he’s taken back to his family he cries that he isn’t scared of receiving his wife’s physical blows or her harsh words, but he’s terrified to look her in her eyes. He says, “It’s her eyes I’m afraid of.”[8]
When we spend time with people in person we feel the warmth and vulnerability of ourselves and others and it shapes how we speak to one another.
In future posts we will continue examining biblical principles effected by technology and social media including our relationships and stewardship of our time and resources.
Part 1: Introduction | Part 2 – Biblical Principles at Stake: Godliness | Part 3: Biblical Principles at Stake: Relationships | Part 4 – Biblical Principles at Stake: Stewardship | Part 5 – Biblical Principles at Stake: Joy & Peace in Christ | Part 6: Why is Social Media & Technology so Addicting? | Part 7: Applications
[1] Jacob Weisberg, “We Are Hopelessly Hooked,” The New York Review of Books (Feb. 25, 2016) quoted in Tony Reinke, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017). 16
[2] Donna Freitas, The Happiness Effect: How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017). 39.
[3] Reinke, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You. 168.
[4] Tweet from @sammyrhodes, since deleted.
[5] Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2017). 169.
[6] Vaughan Roberts, The Porn Problem: Christian Compassion, Convictions and Wisdom for Today’s Big Issues (Surrey, UK: The Good Book Company, 2018).
[7] Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, Reprint edition (New York: Penguin Books, 2016). 5.
[8] Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, Classic Edition (New York: Bantam, 1981). 22.
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
