Facebook's Greatest Hits: Sing A New Song

 Photo by Melissa Rose 

Welcome to our final week of the Facebook Friend Challenge. Thank you for joining me on this four-week journey. This last one may be the most challenging for many of us, so if you are ready, skip to the next paragraph. If you’re just joining us, we have been thinking about social networking practices. We’ve noticed that how we operate confirms recent research, which says we get out of social networking what we bring to it. This research has also found, however, that what many people bring to social media is a growing feeling of disconnectedness. We have thought about how we, who call ourselves Christ’s, are also called to bring light and hope to the world. We have asked the question, “What do we bring to something like Facebook?” We’re looking to make a difference, even on Facebook, and using Jesus’ example to guide us.

Jesus spent time alone. He had hundreds of needy people, nearly 24-hours-a-day, clamoring for His attention and care. Do you think He wasn’t tempted to spend every moment with them? The Bible says He was tempted with everything we are, yet He still regularly went off on his own to pray, rest, and recharge. If He could do it, we can, too. 

For the last few weeks, I've been thinking about how we can more intentionally connect with our friends on Facebook. In this last week, I'm writing about something a little different. I think this last, though, is crucial to enabling us to have the love and energy we need to really be there for our friends.

In my experience, and I’m not the first writer or researcher to suggest this, one of the most striking results of the social networking phenomenon is that solitude has become nearly non-existent. Thanks to social media, there is a world of people out there who are lonely, but never alone.

Human beings need solitude. We need to have thoughts and feelings that we don’t share with anyone but God. We have to have those times when we see only Him and listen for His voice and the truth it brings to our lives. Without that voice, we start to believe our own press, seldom a positive thing. In addition, the Bible frequently recommends that most of the thoughts that go through our heads should never come out of our mouths and certainly, they shouldn’t appear on our Facebook pages. We need to unplug for our own good, and for the good of our friends.

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, the Smart Phone – they will all be there when we come back. We will miss a few things. God is the only one who can keep track of everything, all the time, and He does, so rest easy. When you come back to the social media universe, resist moving to the world’s beat. Sing a new song!

Facebook Challenge, Week Four: Disconnect for 24 hours. Bonus points for avoiding screens of any kind. Double bonus if you can get your family or a friend to join you.