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6:00 AM


I got on my Facebook page. I enjoyed seeing pictures of my friend Kathrine and the kids she nannies.  I loved Alicia and Grace’s posts about how awesome their husbands were. I appreciated Josh’s honesty about the rough time he and his wife have been going through due to poor health. Amanda’s verse art was lovely and inspiring. Oh, and should I mention all the back-to-homeschool pictures that are coming across my page? Love it!

Yet, the majority of my page was taken up with very different aspects. There that person went, posting yet another post bashing yet another Christian book. Yet another update from that author group, talking about how Amazon is ripping off authors. Still another post about the horror of abortion. And still another post about the toxic products that you use daily in your house.

Are these people right? Most of them are, but to me, I am seeing an alarming trend among well intentioned, Christian Facebook users. They want to use their Facebook page for good, to share what they are passionate about and warn people. However, I wonder if they see what their Facebook page looks like as a whole. Most of the titles could be changed to say: “I was angry when I heard about this, and you should be too!’ and it would capture the essence of what the article is made to do.

Yes, there are times for righteous anger. No, I’m not one of those people who thinks you should never share and article on your page. However, I wonder how our feeds would look if for one day, everyone couldn’t share articles or anything on the news that made them mad. What would happen if for one week, you could only post your own thoughts, and no one else’s. I for one would love Facebook so much more. Right now, Facebook makes me sad at the number of Christians who are missing the point.

What if instead of posting an article about why you shouldn’t read this bad book, why don’t we talk about a book that God has used to minister to us? What if we stopped talking about how horrible such-and-such company is and put that same effort into promoting a good one or offering an encouraging word? Why don't instead of crying against abortion again, we raise awareness of the local crisis pregnancy centers and find ways to help those on the front lines of this battle?

Imagine the impact that if for one day, not a single Christian argued or complained, but simply built up what was good, didn’t give what was evil even the distinction of a mention, and didn’t complain.

Okay, now I am convicted. Yeah, I complain on Facebook every few days. I get a lot of sympathy that way. And isn’t that what we want? Attention. Headlines that make people mad, make them stop and pay attention…and they discourage them, tear them down, and often end up making them think about everything in a negative light. No longer! I refuse to be a part of this problem if I can help it. I am going to change and see what I can do to encourage others to do the same. Will you join me?

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9 comments

  1. These are very interesting thoughts! I've had some of the same ones before. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Thank you so much for this!! I've had very similar thoughts about this lately, but it's been hard to put into words. "What if instead of posting an article about why you shouldn’t read this bad book, why don’t we talk about a book that God has used to minister to us? What if we stopped talking about how horrible such-and-such company is and put that same effort into promoting a good one or offering an encouraging word? Why instead of crying against abortion again, we raise awareness of the local crisis pregnancy centers and find ways to help those on the front lines of this battle?" Yes, yes, yes!! Such a great reminder, Sarah :)

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    1. That can be so frustrating when you can't find the right words. I'm glad I was able to help.

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  3. Good for you, Sarah, on reaching this turning point! I have gotten to where I don't like posting much on Facebook, but when I do it has GOT to be something that is GOOD and POSITIVE. I do wish social media wasn't filled with so many rants.

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    1. Amen! We need a new social media that is a rant free zone. ;)

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  4. Social media should be for fun talks among friends and followers.
    Marilyn

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  5. AMEN! My greatest wish for Facebook is that they would implement the option of sorting all web content such as articles and videos into one "tab" while all personal status updates get their own tab. Often I can't even find friends' updates that I care about underneath the barrage of the headlines, memes, and videos. This wouldn't fix the complaining per se, but it would be a vast improvement to Facebook usability.

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