Making Social Media Not About Me

Is it just me, or is anyone else disheartened of all the hard knocks in the world? Are you tired of reading people’s harsh words as you scroll through Facebook? Are you saddened by the lack of gospel being shared and the continuous flow of people who don’t want to follow Jesus anymore? Are you frustrated with how I take all these things and make them about me – I mean you??

I’ve been struggling with keeping a Christ-like attitude when it comes to social media. I’ve been hurt when people comment rude things on my posts sharing the gospel.  I’m tired of the lack on encouragement and the abundance of criticism. And it’s been a struggle to keep my eyes on Jesus – I want to keep stewing, replaying the rudeness, allowing my self to disengage from interactions so I can’t get hurt anymore. I have, for the first time, contemplated cutting off social media all together because of how tired I am. And I LOVE social media and the good that CAN come from it!

But social media isn’t the problem. The people on social media aren’t the problem. The problem is ME and MY lack of trusting God. I can’t control what people do and don’t say to me, but I can trust the Jesus knows me and my heart. I can still point to the good news of Jesus even if no one likes my posts.

I can also choose to speak the best about others and promote the good risks people take on social media! I’m seeing more of a trend of people’s rudeness on social media – saying things you would never say to their face in a comment or ragging on them in a post without directly using their name. When did we start thinking this is acceptable behavior?

So I am challenging myself for the month of November to make my social media not about me as much as I possibly can. Would you like to join me?

Here are some ideas on how to make you social media not about you:

1. Share something daily to point to how my life is about The One and ONLY God of the Universe, and not about me.

• Share a picture and use the hashtag #notaboutmenovember – I used this hashtag last year, so if you would like some ideas please check them out on Instagram and Facebook·      Write a thoughtful post on Facebook (use same hashtag) – keep it as short as you can so people can take the time to read, reflect and respond.

 

• Write one sentence on Twitter (use the same hashtag).

2. Pray for others

• This could be going through your followers on IG or Twitter, or your friends on Facebook, and taking time to pray for them. You can even take the time to ask them through a message how you can specifically pray for them.

 

• Simply post, “How may I pray for you today?” and pray for those who respond.

 

• Go through hashtags that would lead to pray for people. Some ideas would be any of the #prayfor… in the U.S. alone in the past two or three months there have been so many harsh events (hurricane, devastating forest fires, shootings, rise in suicides) that there are SO MANY hurting people! And that’s just here!! Around the world there has been record floods, terrorist attacks… seriously, people around the world are being hit hard by the humanity’s sin! You could use keywords like “suicide prevention”, “brokenness”, “regret”, “love” – just be aware you may come across things that are not appropriate and to either seek accountability before you go into this or do it with someone who will also pray.

 

• Ask God how you should pray! He knows all, He can show you how to use social media to pray for others.

 3. Promote your friends

• Host parties or share posts from friends who do their business online! Share what you love and appreciate about them, and how you want to encourage them in their business. It’s intimidating to put yourself out there for people to scrutinize, and there could be people who are waiting for them to quit or wanting them to stop posting so they can stop seeing all those posts. But don’t be one of them! I hear all the time from people who do their work from home and online what a difference it is to have people interact with their posts. A quick “like” and short comment can bring lots of encouragement.

 

• Write encouraging comments on someone’s wall for no reason.

 

• You know those posts that start an argument? In the midst of the back and forth, post something encouraging about the person who posted and the heart behind the passion instead of something antagonistic.

4. Read or listen to material to think outside of yourself and share what God shows you

• Blog posts (which MissionalWomen.com has GREAT posts from the past and will be posting more in November as well), discipleship resources, podcasts, books, sermons – whatever you can think of that will help keep your eyes on Christ.

 

• Book suggestions : 

​​            * Not About Me by Max Lucado
            * Radical by David Platt
            * In His Steps by Charles Sheldon (fiction, but so good to help you think more about what Jesus
               would do over what you would want to do)
            * All In by Mark Batterson
            * Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
            * Anything by Jennie Allen
            * Foxes Book of Marytrs


5. Share the gospel

• Ask provoking questions on Twitter or Facebook and start a conversation. Read responses and see if people will engage you in a private message, or leave a comment to everyone that shares the gospel. The best is having a personal conversation so you can lead them to a point of decision personally. Example questions could be:

                      o   If Jesus were to appear in front of you and wanted to tell you one thing, what would He
​                           tell you?
                      o   Where do you put your hope?
                      o   What do you think is the reason for all the problems in the world?
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• Share a verse image that shares the gospel on Instagram. My favorites are Romans 10:9, John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 5:8 and Romans 6:23. You can give a brief explanation of what it looks like to surrender to Christ, put in strategic hashtags to share with certain people (examples #broken #momlife #abuse).

 

• Create a Facebook ad to reach people around the world with the gospel. Check out this MW article to learn how! 

 

• Get into gospel conversations on periscope and blab. Here's how.

 

• There are more ideas, and I’m sure some that God will even show you when you ask! A GREAT book that is fairly short but packed with tons of encouragement, challenges and tips on how to use social media to share the gospel is Reach: How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God AND you can find it in the Missional Women bookstore!!

We would love it if you used the hastag #notaboutmenovember so we can see what God is showing you!! That way we can pray for you as you step out in faith and encourage you as you make your social media life more about Jesus and less about you.
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About Leah

Leah works with Master Plan Ministries at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Other than watching college students' lives change, she enjoys getting her mind blown by God and His Word, watching sci fi, baking cupcakes, and spending time with her hunky husband. 
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