ePurity: Facebook

ePurity: Facebook

 

With all the technology available to us today, it can be especially hard to maintain your sexual purity. In this series, we are going to breakdown those electronic devices and social media areas that can either help or harm you. One of the major technological advances in today’s society is social media. We are going to take a look at your Facebook activity and see if it lines up with what God wants for you.

If God took a look at your Facebook right now, would He be totally happy with everything He saw? Would you consider your page to be sexually pure? What are you promoting? These are all questions to ask yourself as I break down the major areas where the enemy can come in. Remember we are a reflection of who Christ is and if you believe the Bible to be true then your Facebook (which is an extension of you) should reflect this. Here are some scriptures that can help offer guidance in discerning your Facebook page:

“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving” (Eph. 5:4).

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28).

“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires” (Colo. 3:5).

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable” (1 Thess. 4:3-4).

1)    Profile pic/selfies–

1. How-Watch the angle of how you take pictures. Some girls may or may not know it but if the camera is too high people will be looking down your shirt.
2. Where- Avoid taking pictures in intimate places like the bathroom or on your bed. These places should be sacred to you and aren’t for everyone eyes to see. They can also promote lustful thoughts.
3. What- Think about what you are trying to say with your profile pic/selfies. What are you trying to promote? You are more than what you look like. Avoid exposing yourself (by yourself I mean body parts) for the world to see and this goes for both guys and girls.

2)    Newsfeed–

1. Memes- I know memes are the thing now and some of them are really funny. However, what type of message are they feeding you? A lot of them promote: sex, cynical sarcastic personality (which is not attractive), cursing, drinking, smoking, you name it. Be careful with what you ‘Like. Sometimes the memes themselves are okay but the page it’s created from has a nasty name or other memes that are not okay.
2. Pages- There are thousands of pages out there. Which ones do you have constantly showing up on your feed? It’s called a feed for a reason. It is literally feeding you whatever message YOU allow on your page. Choose those pages that will help inspire your relationship with God and help you remain sexually pure (like mine…www.facebook.com/teenpurity).
3. Friends (including exes!!)- You want to have people that will help motivate you to do better. If you have friends that still smoke weed or are still having sex with whomever, then reading their statuses or looking at pictures may tempt you to go back to your old lifestyle. Either unfriend or hide them from your feed. Also, don’t have your ex or better yet your ex’s new main squeeze on your page. It will only promote jealousy.

3)    Status– People do read everything you write especially when you are claiming to be a follower of Christ. Again I will ask, “What are you promoting?” Is there profanity? Are we trying to start a fight? Take a look at your past statuses since the beginning of the year. What do you think? Can there be a change for the better?

These are just a few things to keep in mind when using social media. If you are on your journey of sexual purity then you want to set yourself up for success. You want people to experience God whenever they visit your page. Would your page look any different from someone who is not following Christ?  Could God pick your page out as one of His children if that is all He had to go on? Something to think about, give your Facebook account a good cleansing, and remember to reflect Christ in all parts of your life.

Baskets of Blessings!