Posting in truth: A Christian’s place in media
As social media manager and website manager for the Liberty Champion, it is my privilege to digitally deliver to you (the readers) weekly stories in which our editors find meaning, excitement, beauty and, most importantly, opportunity to share aspects of God’s character. I, too, find meaning in being able to push and highlight these stories and seeking to do my job well.
Hand in hand with that meaning, however, comes a struggle of mine: a desire for notoriety.
Social media has been a hot topic in evangelical circles for a number of years now; it’s not a new discussion. What I personally have been discussing with peers and mentors more recently, however, is whether or not we Christians truly need people in these fields. Is it productive to seek to infiltrate, as it were, the different positions and jobs that our culture elevates and values? My answer is: it depends. Now, before you call me noncommittal, let me walk you through the problem.
What began as a meaningful opportunity for me to cultivate skills and learn more about publishing processes slowly turned into a desire to succeed. Albeit not inherently evil, this desire began to supplant my healthy engagement with social media. I’ve found myself using the Lord to further my position rather than using my position to further the Lord.
Granted, looking at views and post engagement is part of my job, but I increasingly find my eyes fixated on trends, catchy movements, lines and popularity, all things that up engagement and get our stories out. This newspaper position of mine is a necessary one, but my desires turn it into a vice.
So, how do we Christians influence without looking like the influencers that our world lauds? The Sunday school answer would be “seek to glorify God in all that you do,” and, while this answer is sufficient, repeating it aloud doesn’t always stop us from internally seeking celebrity status. An ordering of loves (from Augustine’s Ordo Amoris) is absolutely necessary in the online world, as is a willingness to let go of that which gains us applause.
On my personal social media accounts, everything that I want to be visible is visible; I can construct, as it were, my perceivable identity. J. Warner Wallace of Cold-Case Christianity said of this, “We sometimes craft our posts for engagement, rather than truth. Perhaps that’s why so much social media is focused on what’s popular and salacious, rather than what’s transcendent and true.”
At a conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary that I’ve mentioned in a previous article, I listened to Union University professor Jacob Shatzer question whether or not it is of the utmost importance to push the church body into certain fields because said fields are headed in unhealthy directions (e.g., biotechnology). He argued that, while it is important to rightly engage with these fields, the act of “living a quiet, simple life” walking with Christ is sometimes the most powerful, testimonial thing that a Christian can do.
Sometimes living a quiet life looks like walking into those fields that inherently have more difficult moral issues to wrestle with than others. I know it to look like taking life one step at a time, looking for opportunities in my schedule to serve as Christ would and surrendering all of my plans and aspirations to God. Right now, this looks like seeking to honor God with every Instagram post, every X (Tweet, formerly) and every interview that I conduct.
I’ve seen productivity and progress in my efforts to turn more heads with my writing and posts, but I’ve seen the most fruit when I’ve chosen to pursue the will of God first, as everything else flows from that.
Glen is the social media and web manager for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X
