The Facebook

-Drew & Valerie Blackston 


I remember sitting at this tiny desk in a small dorm room on the 2nd floor my freshman year of college. The computer screen flickered in front of me while my roommate talked about this new website where we could connect with other college students. I scanned the screen at what was then “The Facebook,” but what we know now as “Facebook.” Little did we know what “The Facebook” had in store for us and the world. I’m not sure Mark Zuckerberg even knew exactly what Facebook would turn into. The world has become totally connected through the developments of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many other social networking sites. Pictures, comments, achievements, all being uploaded for the world to see in the blink of an eye. What used to take hours, days, or months to circulate the globe, now just takes the push of a button. If you don’t understand what “going viral” means you can easily look it up in every major dictionary, paper and online! Wow, how the world has changed since that day in 2004. The ways in which technology has improved our lives, I see where it has impeded our daily interactions. Now don’t get me wrong, without technology, Anchor Movement doesn’t get to impact people all over the globe. Without technology, our podcasts and YouTube videos don’t make it any farther than our bedroom windows. We love technology here at Anchor Movement and we believe that it can be a tool for reaching this world with the message of Jesus Christ. For example, an article was featured online last week that talked about a new Christian radio station that was going to be able to beam the gospel message into North Korea from the South Korean border. Isn’t that incredible?! Christianity in Iran is growing faster than in any other country thanks to new satellite TV channels being watched on traditional TV and mobile devices. Technology is a wonderful tool that is bringing the gospel to the nations, but what about here at home in our own social media and technology world. How about our personal instagram feed or story? Who gets the glory on your instagram or facebook account? The apostle Paul in 1 and 2 Corinthians outlines what our life should look like even in our social media obsessed world:


“Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31 NLT


“As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”  2 Corinthians 10:17 NLT


Now listen, we are not against posting a selfie or a picture with friends or even the awesome dinner at that cool new restaurant we ate at last night, but we must look at our purpose even when it comes to the silliest of posts. Are we bringing honor to GOD or are we bringing honor to us? Every comment, post, or like doesn’t need to be something super spiritual, but take a look at what you are saying, wearing, and doing and ask yourself, “Does this bring glory to GOD or does this bring glory to me?” GOD gave you great friends, post away! GOD blessed you with beautiful children, brag like there’s no tomorrow! That wonderful man you wake up next to every morning (Valerie is rolling her eyes), he is an answer to your deepest prayers, post! post! post! 


We will all stand before GOD and give account for our actions and this includes our social media accounts. Looking through the lens of GOD’s Word has totally transformed every moment we spend on social media. It’s changed from, ‘how can we make our life look good’ to ‘how can we encourage someone else with our story?’ We all have a unique opportunity today to not only be the physical hands and feet of Jesus, but to be the thumbs too. It might seem silly that you posting about your food can bring honor to GOD but who provided money for that dinner? A simple post about your best friends birthday might seem small, but who led you to that friend when you two were in high school? Valerie likes to post pictures of our two dogs and we can tell you story after story of how GOD has used those two mutts to bless our lives in more ways than we can count. If someone you didn’t know was to scroll through your old Instagram post, what could that person ascertain about you? Where would they see you pointing? 


Before your next social media post/comment, consider if your words or pictures are going to be building others up or leading others to envy a false reality? It’s hard not to be self seeking in a “selfie” world, but are we building others up with our comments and photos (in turn pointing back to GOD) or dragging them down? That saying “a picture is with a thousand words” is true. There’s so much more not seen or said when we quickly upload and post- can the story behind it encourage someone else ? We all don’t want to share our lives on social media, which is fine, but think about what you do share as being influential to those around you. You may not think you’re an “influencer”, but even with one follower you are impacting the world around you! 

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