Rev. David Wilson Rogers
Published 12:26 PM EDT Mar 8, 2020
For all its value, perhaps one of the most destructive forces in modern history is social media. To be sure, social media is not all bad. Many use it for completely wonderful and worthwhile purposes. It is a great source of fostering friendships, sharing meaningful information, organizing movements, advertising events, and bridging the miles between distant friends and family. Yet, it also tends to bring out the worst in people!
The apostle James intuitively understood the danger of social media even though it was something that would not be invented for nearly two thousand years. This is because James understood the frailty and temptations of humanity. In the third chapter of James he compares the human tongue to the ruder on a massive ship. Relatively speaking, it is a small member of the ship, yet capable of controlling the direction of the entire vessel. In similar analogies, James compares the tongue to the tiny spark that ignites a massive wild fire.
Both illustrations point to a singular reality that is strictly forbidden under the law of the Ten Commandments—the bearing of false witness. When the tongue spreads false information, the destructive consequences are magnified. The problem with social media is that the platform allows gossip, incorrect information, and false witness to spread like a dangerous and destructive wildfire.
There are countless situations where tragedy has struck and people are either exposed to fake information through unsubstantiated social media postings, or they are cruelly informed of tragedy before formal, official, and proper legal notifications are allowed to take place. Unfortunately, it happens all too often and the consequences are devastating.
Christians engaging with social media would do good to take a page from our sacred scripture in 2 Timothy’s Second chapter. Here idol talk and gossip is compared to a deadly gangrene that slowly consumes and destroys the body with a foul pestilence. The problem is, in the modern world of social media it is too easy to click and share, too easy to post a picture and ask for prayer, and too easy to tell others what one believes to be true without regard for either accuracy of the information or the effect it will have on others.
Often Christians unwittingly do so under the presumption of prayer. One is concerned about a tragedy and without knowing any of the details or, in most cases, knowing anything about the people involved, internet calls for prayer are blasted through social media and the rumors begin to spiral out of control. Inevitably, someone gets hurt by the unsubstantiated exchange of unverified information.
Before sharing tragic information on line, there are a few essential questions that every responsible Christian must ask. Do I really know the information I am sharing is truly factual and verifiable by an official and credible source? Has the immediate family affected by the information given the authority and permission for the information to be shared? Is sharing the information in any way going to impede the work of Law Enforcement in conducting the appropriate investigations and notifications? Am I sharing simply to satisfy my own desire to be “in the know” and have something to share?
In actuality, if one answers “no” to any one of those questions, there is no justification for sharing. In fact, if one does, it is simply gossip and sin.
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