Social ME-Di-UH!

It’s not news to hear that Social Media rules our day and age. Look at any print advertisement and you’ll see an accompaniment of logos for Social Media sites. We’ve become consumed by the craze, which for some has become second nature behind breathing and eating. Professionally we believe that the more Social Media the more support from consumers. Personally, we believe the more we update the world on our love life, personal accomplishments and motivating song lyrics the more satisfied we feel…like we are some sort of D-list celebrity with important things to share with the world. A friend recently posted that “Facebook is like a fridge, you keep checking it and nothing has changed.” Social Media has become a constant in our daily lives and our daily lives have been constantly planned around Social Media.

It’s also no surprise that as we broadcast to the world, and to our ‘friends’ that follow us, we also open ourselves to the risk of a world of hurtfulness and all the stressing over how we stack up towards our friends, all the while diluting our ability to actually be able to handle true relationships with others. I think my friend’s post was wrong. Facebook is like the fridge of a bachelor (i.e. Me), I’ll keep putting food into it and keep checking it, but it always leaves me empty.

If it’s so easy to open up to ‘friends’ and complete strangers through Social Media why is it such a struggle for many to warm up to broadcasting our thoughts, thankfulness and temptations to someone who truly follows us every hour of every day? He tells us that whether He remains seen or distant in our own lives we should strive to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the faith of the gospel (Phil 1:27-28). It is only when we draw near in confidence towards His grace that we may one day receive His mercy and find His grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4: 16). The man is practically an inspirational status update generator for those pick me up quotes when we’re down…and the best part is we don’t have to sign in to read them, there’s no passwords keeping us from them and there’s no pesky updates we don’t understand because His grace hasn’t changed for two thousand years.

As technology grows, Social Media becomes more and more ingrained in our daily lives. The faster life picks up the more stress we put upon ourselves to keep up with these needs. The more stressed and stretched thin, the easier it is to consume ourselves with the needs of x, y and z. With that brings personal pain, social stresses, loneliness and the abandonment of our pride. Now is the time for us to pull back from the poking, posting and pain of Social Media and begin forming true relationships, one’s that don’t leave us empty. Relationships built on love, compassion and purpose. It is the Holy Spirit who says, “I love those who love me (Proverbs 8:17),” “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (Exodus 33:14),” and the One who says “through prayer be social with me, duh! (This guy).”