Social Masks

The Social Media Mask

We’ve spent the last month talking about the masks we wear.  October seemed like a good time to have that conversation as masks and costumes, dark things and scary things, carved pumpkins and ghostly images take over the world we see all around us.  As we finish up this month of masked conversations, I have to admit my heart weighs heavy.  I have avoided active references to Halloween simply because it can be so divisive in church world, as the weeks have passed we have come closer and closer to election day and the noise on both sides has become louder, I have avoided the issues of politics and beliefs.  And then again there is COVID, with its daily numbers and stats and the dividing lines drawn up on either side of this battleground. 

I am blessed that I have friends in every walk of life, I am blessed to have social connections from people from each end of every spectrum.  I am blessed that many of these people, when engaged in a direct, face to face conversation are able to hear and understand my heart, and help me challenge my thinking when I am too close-minded. 

However, I am also saddened that we live in a world where what we post publicly and indirectly is often unfiltered.   A world of social media, where we say things online, that even if we were to say them in person, would be said differently.  A world where those who don’t agree with us are labeled and called names and insulted.  A world where two people who love Jesus, worship together on Sunday, pray together for common causes, can tear each other down publicly.  Somehow, social media has provided a new mask, a mask of arrogance and pride and self-righteousness.

At the beginning of the COVID lockdowns, I refused to take a side on how serious or political this virus was.  The truth is, I don’t know.  But I challenged us as believers, to ask ourselves what people will see, and learn and believe about Jesus because of our words and actions.  So today, I ask a similar question….

What does the world think of your God when your heart, your tenderness, your humility is hidden by the masks of pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness.  Does a hurting and broken world see Jesus’ love in the public face you have created.  I’m not talking about lukewarm Christianity, I not talking about compromising truth, I’m certainly not talking about watering down our convictions, I am talking about asking honest questions, walking in humility, being willing to listen to another person’s story and experience the world from their view.  In the end, I’m talking about truly balancing truth and grace.

Today I want to challenge you to take a hard look at your public social media image.  When someone reads your facebook posts, or your Instagram stories, or your linked in profile, who will they see.  For years’ now, pastors have said (usually in a message on giving) “if you want to know where your heart is, look to where your money is.”  I’d like to similarly challenge you, if you want to know how you represent Jesus to the world around you, look to your profile pages.  What do you see?

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciple, if you love one another.” – John 13:35