Social Networking: Lifting others up

My last post was about the perils of pride in social networking. One sure-fire way to combat self-aggrandizement is by lifting up others, and lifting up Christ.

As a Christian, I don’t live my life to get others to look at me, so I shouldn’t be tweeting or updating my status to get everyone to look at me, either. A great rule of thumb is probably whether I am posting more about Jesus and others than I am about myself.

When I post anything, I want to start to ask myself:

Do I seek to point out other people by calling attention to their accomplishments or by linking to something they said or posted?

Do I use lots of Scripture, doing my best to get people to notice the wonders in the Word, the glories of the gospel, and the generous gift of God’s grace?

Do I encourage others towards a life of prayer and worship and godliness?

Do I point out sound ways of thinking and challenge people to spiritually discern issues of cultural exigency?

When I was little I was told that God gave me “two ears and one mouth, so I should listen twice as much as I speak”. I think that when communicating through social networks, it would be a great goal to post about God and others twice as much as we post about ourselves.