Opinion | Don’t let social media change you

It is unlikely that you as a parent would be happy with your child changing because of the bad behaviour of other children. Parental desire is for a child to behave correctly, to stand out and make a positive difference.

I believe parents do not want their children to become accustomed to a bad environment by absorbing its bad habits.

Social media is a bad platform, a place where people are mean, rude, spread rumours, engage in cyberbullying, and body shame others.

This is a platform that can easily drain your self-esteem, it can make you succumb to depression or even
drive you to commit suicide.

People don’t mind stripping others naked, demoralising, body shamming and laughing at others because they look different from them. In the process, they lose sight of who they are.

Romans 12:2 says

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As children of God, we do not have to partake in the aforementioned negativities of social media. We do not have to be among the people that are inflicting pain in other people’s lives.

As much as we want followers, there are certain things we do not have to condone. We do not have to stoop low to the level of those who do not know God by doing absolutely anything just to be labelled as ‘cool’ or to gain recognition, there is nothing wrong in gaining recognition if you do it in the right way.

How many Christians have contributed to inflicting pain in the lives of people via social media?

How many Christians were among those who bullied or body shammed a person to the point of them taking their own life? The list goes on but I’m sure you get the picture.

The same way parents would not want their children to be influenced by a certain environment and turn out like people of that place, God cannot be pleased with his children allowing social media to shape them.

He specifically told us to not conform to the standards of this world and this is not a once off thing, it should be our daily life. We are in the world, but we are not of this world therefore we should not let social media change us in a bad way.

There is more bad than good in social media. It is not impossible for children of God to be among the good, the ones who uplift others, the ones who motivate others, the ones who put a smile on someone’s face, the ones who bring light where darkness reigns.

You can still get your reactions and followers without losing ubuntu in the process.

Remain true to yourself and remember you are a child of God and you are supposed to exhibit love like the one you profess to follow.

A well-mannered child should continue with her good manners even when surrounded by bad people.

A child of God should never lose her identity in Christ even when surrounded by bad people. Hold on to God’s teachings, live in love and let it be evident in the way you treat people.

To evangelize does not only mean to preach the gospel in order to win souls to God, but you can also win souls by simply living in love, by walking in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ who has people’s best interest at heart.

May God help us to be better people.

Shalom!