–– Joe Shoko
The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Someone once said, ‘The internet is the only place where someone who does not know you and has never seen you before, can speak into your life’s circumstances and have a profound impact on your life.’ This is proving to be true each passing day, and sadly, the consequences are quite devastating.
How did we get here? Before the internet era, people used ‘brick phones’, and news was not as readily available. In that age, a friend or family member could pass away, and you wouldn’t hear of it for years; a colleague would enjoy a blissful wedding with no camera, lights, live recordings, or choreography.
There are no bible verses that directly address the matters of owning a phone, taking a picture, social media applications, or having a Hollywood-style wedding, but there are verses that address the state of the human heart and the actions of man.
Whilst doing His ministry here on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ encountered, on several occasions, a very religious group of people known as the Pharisees. On one occasion, the Pharisees, desiring to be more righteous than the Lawgiver, accuse Jesus’ disciples of not washing their hands as was the tradition of their forefathers. Jesus responds to them in a way that they did not expect, and as was His trademark, left them flabbergasted.
He said in Mark 7:20-23,
“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
What Jesus was teaching them was what has become known as the ‘Doctrine of Total Depravity’.
Here are three ways that this condition is exposed in this internet-engulfed age.
- Slander
A well-meaning person may post a picture of their daughter whilst on holiday, or even a brother or sister’s graduation ceremony. There is nothing intrinsically sinful about that; however, whilst the one who posted is being showered with praise and acclaim, there are usually one or two others who will respond in a slanderous manner. At times, the motivation behind the comments posted has nothing to do with the content but everything to do with bringing down the person who posted.
Comments about how unattractive the baby is, emphasising that the graduation came after many years of failure, or bringing attention to the oversized gown, all with a malicious heart-level motivation to slander.
Slander is a grave sin that has sadly become all-too-respectable in our day; it seeks to destroy another human being and their dignity with words. Today, anyone can say anything on the internet that they would not say to the recipient’s face, but because there is a screen dividing them, the slanderer becomes courageous. Social media has brought out the cowardice that is characteristic of many in this generation.
We would all do well to remember that the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
- Coveteousness
Ecclesiastes 1:8 tells us that the eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing, and Proverbs 27:20 echoes by teaching how the eyes of man always crave more. Without the practice of the spiritual discipline of contentment, you will never have everything you want, even when you have everything you need. You will often see another person somewhere with something you desire. This is the exact reason why God, through Moses, gave the Israelites the Tenth Commandment, which forbids envying another’s belongings.
Social media has only fanned into the flame this desire within us that would literally kill to have what another has been given. Many are living beyond their financial means, beleaguered by burdens of debt, watching people’s pages and statuses, and just craving more. Even men in ministry can fall into this sin, coveting how God has blessed other ministers financially and developing a subtle hatred of a brother because of the sin of covetousness, boosted by the internet.
- Pride
JC Ryle says that pride is the generational disease of all sons and daughters of Adam. Pride is the mother of all sins because Satan and his demonic hosts were cast from heaven in consequence of wanting to usurp the authority of God.
Pride in the internet world is seen in how many live private lives of enslavement to pornography on their devices. Others, discontented with consuming filth, not only post the vilest vulgarities and calloused crudeness, but give hearty approval to those who practice them in the form of views, likes, shares, and follows. Others, yet still, show a more subtle sense of pride; they don’t promote anything overtly sinful, but are obsessed with showing themselves, their faces, their outfits, and their lives in a way that draws all attention to themselves rather than to God.
Instead of sharing things that build up and encourage, many have taken it upon themselves to flaunt how wicked, wealthy, or worthless they are (Deut. 13:13).
Conclusion
In this internet crisis we find ourselves today, the Christian response is not isolationism (1 Cor. 5:10), it is to look to Jesus Christ as the standard of perfect righteousness. The One who never sinned and will never sin, although He was, is, and is to come in all ages that came before, during, and are to come after the internet age. The One who was made sin for us, whose righteousness was imputed to us so that we would not perish. Trusting and holding onto Him will save us from the chaos of the social media age.