Divisiveness & Social Media

By Brent Lykins

We live in an era where social media plays a large role in our communication with each other.  It’s very easy for us to type away, letting our fingers put our thoughts out in the open for the whole world to see.  

Unfortunately, when we are behind keyboards and not face to face with someone, it becomes slightly easier to let opinions and dialogue flow that may not have flowed otherwise.   We all have opinions, right?  We have opinions about current news headlines, politics, the status of the country, and we even have opinions about how others should think, act, or speak.  

Satan loves this.

Satan loves this because it’s just one more way that he can slide a toe in between the door and the doorpost.   Once a toe is in, it becomes easier to get a foot in…then a leg…and then eventually Satan is standing in the middle of us, making himself a full divider between brethren because of a social media post.

In an election year, there are literally thousands of posts across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and whichever news outlet that you may frequent online.  Everyone is eager to get their point across.  Everyone is eager to “one-up” the other and then “drop the microphone.”   It’s so easy for us, brothers and sisters, to be tempted to “one-up” someone else or feel the satisfaction of dropping the mic in front of everyone who may be reading at the time.  

Satan loves that.

In a year full of racial disturbances, protests, riots, shunning the police, and wearing masks, everyone is eager to speak their opinions and viewpoints.  And once again, everyone is eager to “one-up” the other and then “drop the microphone”.  Once again brothers and sisters, it’s easy for us to be tempted to partake in those actions.  

Satan loves that.  

Let me remind everyone reading that even though we are the body of Christ, each of us have our own will and each of us have our own thoughts.   Your thoughts may not represent the majority.  Your opinion may not represent the majority.   We may not all agree.  There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, but let me also remind everyone that sometimes we get caught up in some very sensitive subjects that may also tie into our pride, our upbringing, or even our underlying beliefs.  It should be understood that once you publicly make a hit on someone else’s pride or underlying belief that it probably will not be accepted with open arms.   In fact, you may hurt someone’s feelings or possibly provoke someone to lose their temper.   Just as we all don’t share the same opinions, we also don’t share the same personalities.   One may let a criticism roll right on by.  Another may hold that criticism deep in their heart and it may cloud their future view of the one who wrote it.  

May I be rogue and suggest that it may be better for Christians to keep their personal opinions about the hot topics of the times to themselves?

I have already seen brothers and sisters “defriend” and “unfollow” each other over differences of opinion.  I have seen public arguments between brethren that will be saved forever and are able to be viewed by people who look to us to be examples.  

A few on-topic passages to leave you with:

Romans 12:18 – “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Galatians 5:14-15 – “ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

Proverbs 17:14 – “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.”