Stop Boasting About Yourself on Facebook

Or Twitter or MySpace or blogs or anything.

I think a lot about 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Many Christians bandy this phrase about like they know what it means.

"Well, how should I live my life?"
"Oh, that's easy, do all things to the glory of God."
"Uh, ok. But what does that actually mean? Or, better yet, what does that look like?"
"(Silence)."

There are two ways to help explicate this passage:

1. To glorify, at its base level, means to give 'weight' to something. So in glorifying God, what we are doing is making God more 'weighty.' We are saying with our words or actions that God is important, that who he is and what he has done deeply affects us.

2. Or, we could replace the word 'glorify' with 'magnify.' John Piper likes to say that there are two ways to magnify God, and one of them is blasphemy. If you magnify God like a microscope, you make that which is tiny big. That is the wrong way to magnify God. But if you magnify God like a telescope, you make that which is ominously large clearer. You help bring into view that which is profoundly great and amazing. That is the right way to magnify God.

And so the question becomes, how do we magnify/glorify God in our lives? Well, the first step is to stop talking about yourself so much.

The problem with Facebook and Twitter (among others) is not that they are inherently evil. Of course they aren't. The problem is that they are the perfect medium for us to boast about ourselves. That is, we often act as though what is important is that we get glorified, not God. Think about it. Why do you want people to know that you just did the laundry, or that you are really happy you are eating a tuna sandwich, or that you just watched the performance "We Are the World" a ninth time at the Michael Jackson memorial? Not because you think society will move along better if this info is distributed. It's because you want people to notice you. You want them to find your status updates, your pictures, your info weighty.

And that unintentionally limits the power of the gospel. The most important thing in the world is not what you have done, but what Christ has done. When you focus only on what you have done and who you are, you reinforce the idea of self-righteousness not just in your heart, but in the hearts of your readers as well. Self-righteousness is the belief that what gets us right with God, or what makes us good people, is how we live our lives. It is our record that is important. But the gospel flips that idea on its head and says that it is your self-righteousness that got you into this mess in the first place and keeps you there. The gospel says, on the other hand, that Christ has come and wants to give his perfect record to you. The gospel is the good news that you can go from self-righteousness to Christ-righteousness. It isn't about you, it is about Jesus.

Paul says that when he boasts, he only does so in the cross of Jesus (Galatians 6:14). He believed this because it is the only way he could make God weighty. Pointing to the record of Jesus, not his own, is how he would magnify his creator. On the other hand, when his boasts were not in the cross of Jesus, that meant that he had forgotten the gospel and had gone back to boasting in himself. And so, I would say, use Facebook in the same manner. When you boast--which is to say, whenever you post anything--do so in the cross of Christ.

Now Paul, however, doesn't mean that you only say the words "Jesus died for me." His point is that you live your life in such a way that "Jesus died for me" is obvious. So the question for us, then, is how can we live our lives on Facebook or Twitter or blogs in such a way that we are consistently proclaiming the cross of Christ? Here are some suggestions.

1. Before your post anything, ask yourself, "How can I make God weighty right now?" Or, think like John: "He must increase, but I must decrease," (John 3:30).
2. Don't be afraid to speak directly about what Christ has done for you. You have the best news in the world. Spread the word.
3. Show gratefulness in your posts. Or, don't grumble. (Philippians 2:14)
4. Share how God is working in your life, what you are learning, how you are growing.
5. Share a bible verse that has recently affected you.
6. Post a quote from an author.
7. Share links to articles or videos.
7. Be funny, but don't be immodest.
8. It is good and right to be real. Share that you do the laundry or that you like tuna sandwiches. But if that is all you post about, check yourself.

How would you add to this list?