By HEATHER COFER
It was a sunny afternoon, and I had just gotten my kids down for their naps. The house was in pretty good shape, and I had a little bit of time to spend just being quiet before I needed to move on to my next task. I got comfy on my favorite corner of our couch and reached for my phone. “I’ll just check my Instagram and Facebook again for a few minutes,” I thought to myself. But as did, I felt a little twinge of conviction, knowing I had already spent the time I had allotted for that day, and there was really not a good reason to get back on social media. I knew there were other things I could do that would provide physical and spiritual rest, and that I was being prompted by the Lord to use these moments to be refreshed in Him.
The Lord has put His finger on social media as an area that is to be fully given to Him, just as much as every other area of my life. There are plenty of times I’ve wanted to throw it out all together because it feels so much harder to use it well than not use it at all. Whether it’s the bait of unedifying links, voicing things that are unnecessary or wrong, or simply wasting time, there is such a pull to use this platform in a way that isn’t good. But again and again, He has shown me He wants to teach me how to use this unique arena of social media in our age for His glory – to encourage others and use each word I write to point back to Him.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” ESV.
Eating and drinking are some of the most basic things we can do. And even these can and should be used for God’s glory. We are each responsible to seek the Lord in the “grey” areas of life, like social media, to know what He is asking of us and how we are to use them (or not use them) in the way that brings Him glory.
We shouldn’t be looking around and thinking, “Well, I know I’m using it better than they are…” but rather looking to Jesus for His calling on our lives. It will look somewhat different for each one of us, but the foundational principles will always be the same: to love God, and as an outflow of that, to love those around us.
The Lord delights to give us wisdom when we ask Him for it. As we prayerfully evaluate each area of our lives and how God desires us to walk in them, He is ready and waiting for us to look to Him for all we need to live in a manner “worthy of the gospel.” (See Philippians 1:27.)
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I’m so excited for the session at the upcoming Set Apart Conference, “True Honor – How to Glorify Christ in Your Daily and Digital Conduct” where Leslie will be going in-depth into this subject! It’s so needed in our day-and-age, and I hope you’ll tune in whether in person or via simulcast for this event!