Digital Communications: Social Media

Recap

The same rules apply this week as last week when we spoke about methods of communication and specifically spoke to the use of cell phones…

ALSO if you have 0 digital communications or social media of any kind, there will still be Biblical principle for you to learn and apply to many areas of your life…

Social Media CAN be used for good…

It CAN be very helpful and good…

Last week:

The Fallen Flesh Will Naturally Look for Wrong Ways to Use Them

“Inventions”

An “idol” replaces God in your heart to a God in your hands…

2. Learn How to Use them and Teach Others

a. Principal of Moderation

b. Principal of Self-Control

c. Principal of Stewardship

d. Principal of Separation and Holiness

e. Principal of Allowable Influences

To this weeks study:

Think with me:

Would you be okay if someone developed a pill and said, “If this highly addictive pill is abused, it may cause anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, impaired driving, a decrease in moral values, moral fornication, increased lying, a distorted self-image, overwhelming obsession with approval from others, a decrease in drive for daily life, a decrease in real-life relationships, isolation, decreased peace and purpose.

“Now have as much as you want…”

We:

Lock up the guns (to keep them away from those who don’t know how to use them appropriately)

Keep medication away from children (just in case they got the bottle open it would be devastating!)

Yet we place a self-destructing bomb into the hand of a child and say “Have fun!” - The world will say you’re a good parent if you do this by the way…

Allow me to start by giving you some verses as the basis for our study:

Psalm 51:10 (KJV 1900)

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;

And renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 139:23–24 (KJV 1900)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart:

Try me, and know my thoughts:

24 And see if there be any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 19:14 (KJV 1900)

14 Let the words of my mouth,

And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,

O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 26:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;

Try my reins and my heart.

Psalm 101:2–3 (KJV 1900)

2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:

I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

Psalm 119:11 (KJV 1900)

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart,

That I might not sin against thee.

What is of utmost importance to me should be:

a clean heart

a right spirit

right thoughts

right words of my mouth

In order to do that I ask God to:

create in me

renew in me

search me

lead me

Make my ways acceptable to thee

Forms of social media:

Facebook (3.1 billion users) -

YouTube (2.5 billion users)

Instagram (2 billion users)

Twitter (X) (611 million users)

Tick Tock (1.6 billion users)

Snap Chat (800 million users) - filled with danger

Many more

study shows teens spend 4.8-5.8 hours on social media per day

If you’re up from 8 am - 10 pm, that means you are up for 14 hours a day. 1/3 of that is spent on social media…

Guess what country has on average the most time spent on social media each day? Kenya… 6+ hours a day on average

“When we engage with social media, it releases a lot of dopamine in the brain’s reward pathway. Lights up the same part of your brain as drugs and alcohol. We have 24/7 access to this particular drug.”

“The AI algorithms see what we like and actually push to us the suggestion that we keep going or check out the next new thing.”

Surgeon General, “We have evidence that social media use is often associated with harms to our kids. My growing concern is that social media has become a contributor to the youth mental health crisis.”

There are lawsuits out there right now where parents are suing YouTube, Facebook and Ticktock because of the mental health crisis their platforms have on their kids…

*Where is the accountability of the parents?*

Do you know how many people I arrested that blamed their arrest on “the system”?

1. The “Me” Mentality

Posts, pictures, Tweets, etc. can be all about me…

My pictures… my mood… my status…

Everyone is trying to go viral…

Social media characterizes your worth by:

How many “likes” you have

How many “friends” you have

How many people “retweet” your tweet

“It’s all about me” is an unbiblical mindset:

Galatians 6:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Romans 12:10 (KJV 1900)

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Philippians 2:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Mark 10:45 (KJV 1900)

45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

It’s not all about me…

2. The Camouflage of sin

“influencers” have been drastically bad for people through their primary source of distribution: social media…

Social media allows you the opportunity to hide sin (Snapchat)…

That doesn’t sound like a platform someone who wants to have a clean heart, clean mind, right mouth and right thoughts would be a part of…

Hebrews 3:13 (KJV 1900)

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

James 1:14–15 (KJV 1900)

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times were week the schools or parents would call in saying that some boy has nude pictures of their daughter and is distributing them around or using them against her…

3. Careless Communications

Ecclesiastes 10:11–14 (KJV 1900)

11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. 12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. 13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

Proverbs 18:21 (KJV 1900)

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue:

And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

1 Peter 4:15 (KJV 1900)

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 (KJV 1900)

11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.

1 Timothy 5:13 (KJV 1900)

13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

Psalm 39:1 (KJV 1900)

1 I said, I will take heed to my ways,

That I sin not with my tongue:

I will keep my mouth with a bridle,

While the wicked is before me.

Proverbs 21:23 (KJV 1900)

23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue

Keepeth his soul from troubles.

Proverbs 29:20 (KJV 1900)

20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?

There is more hope of a fool than of him.

Ecclesiastes 5:2–3 (KJV 1900)

2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

Ecclesiastes 5:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

We get real strong, powerful and bold once we get behind a device where all we have to do is type…

We may say things we would NEVER say to someone face to face…

Things that are rude, unkind, sexual, destructive in so many ways…

All we have to do is type and hit “send”…

Other areas we don’t have time for:

- Removal from society to a fabricated world

- Self-Acceptance

People use filters and all sorts of things that make you look different than what you do…

Influencers promote looking and being someone different from who you really are…

They glamorize that life and entice young people to want to join in…

How did Jesus grow?

Luke 2:52 (KJV 1900)

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

In stature

In wisdom

In favour with God and man