The Impact of Social Media on Faith and Relationships

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Related Messages

We are called through love to serve one another. We won’t be able to do this or any of the one another commands in the New Testament if we are distracted, oblivious, disengaged, or isolated. If you’d like to reflect on these things a bit deeper, consider listening to the following sermons:

Considering Others

A Love the Christian Must Reject

Who Is My Neighbor?

Walking In Wisdom – Parts 1 & 2

Discernment For the Ages

Living Like Free Men – Part 1

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The Impact of Social Media on Faith and Relationships

This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Josh Philpot talks with Dr. Richard Caldwell about how being online and being connected through social media has become such a big part of our lives these days. He shares it’s incredible to think how all this connectivity we have with our smartphones and other devices has only been around for 20 to 30 years. And how it has significantly impacted people in the very way they do life. For some, their whole lives seem immersed in what is online and what they might miss out on. For others, it’s the work they do that keeps them constantly immersed in online activity. At Founders Baptist Church, we even stream our Sunday services live, first and foremost, for the convenience of our members who might not be able to be with us physically. However, we also know that other people watch live or yet later and are often blessed by them. But even this kind of connectivity can distract and isolate us from engaging relationally in healthy ways. How can we avoid these sorts of online existences having such a deepening influence on us? What are some things we should think about as Christians as it relates to all this?

 

Dr. Caldwell explains we see this sort of thing happening everywhere around us. We see people peering intensely at their phones, their pads, etc., taking pictures and videos, watching and reading stuff online, not really being aware of things right in front of them. He says it’s sort of a parable of what’s happening in our world all around, where we mistake interaction with technology for relationship and, in turn, we mistake this overabundance of information with knowledge and understanding. He believes we need to stop and ask ourselves some questions. What if we didn’t have our phones, the internet, Google search, and all the information we get online? What would we do? How would we do? We need to think about this. We need to think about times when these things didn’t exist. Think about cameras and the pictures we have to look at and cherish as a result of the invention of the camera. But there was a time when they didn’t exist, and all that people had to rely on was memory, conversations, and maybe someone’s written description/account. But we’ve lost that and don’t remember things the way we should with each other. We are distracted and give our minds no rest when we’re constantly connected. We need to take a step back and ask, is this healthy? What is the first thing our face meets with in the morning? Is it our devices and the information we might find there? Where does our day begin, and where does it end? Do we have rest in our hearts and minds? These are important things for us to grapple with. Technology can be helpful, is helpful, and we all take advantage of it in one way or another. But do we have the capacity to put it in its proper place and treat it as a helpful convenience, but not something that’s at the core of our lives? And are we losing precious things due to our interaction with technology?

 

Dr. Philpot shares that as he thinks about this last point, it seems one of the major dangers is that it results in more isolation. There’s this deceiving aspect that these online social media sites and apps actually bring people together when, in fact, they have further isolated us. And this is totally contradictory to what the New Testament calls Christians to be doing with one another. If we think of something like Facebook, we have all these so-called friends. Some are people we’ve never met in our whole life, yet we call them friends. This is imaginary, and we need to think carefully about how they can impact our lives. Dr. Caldwell shares an example of this in a recent documentary he watched on the football player Manti Te’o, who was catfished through an online-only relationship and became grieved over a person who didn’t exist. Dr. Philpot shares that it makes him think of the fictitious movie Castaway, with Tom Hanks, whose character, Chuck Nolan, creates a friend for himself from a Wilson volleyball that floats up on the island. Later, when Wilson falls off a raft and can’t be rescued, Chuck somewhat loses his mind and is left distraught.

 

Dr. Caldwell says these sorts of things speak to longing for actual and tangible interaction with real people. He shares another example of his love for sports and how when he was younger in his married life, his wife would be away on a Saturday, and he’d make big plans for all day soaking and relishing in college football. But somewhere in the middle of doing that, he’d really miss her. He tells us it was a good reminder to him that even in those years, there’s no substitute for real life, flesh and blood people, who are in your life. No football game with all its players and all the fans, and no Facebook page with all those purported friends can substitute for real people and real-life interaction.

 

Biblically speaking, this speaks to the primacy and uniqueness of the local church. Watching preaching online, on a screen, will not ever substitute for a person being a part of a healthy church. Isolation is a real danger when it comes to technology, especially when you find yourself being satisfied with just that online interaction. That’s actually not a good thing. Being alone by yourself is not helpful to you or to others. God has designed us to make an investment in other people’s lives. When you cut yourself off from that, that’s actually an expression that the book of Proverbs speaks of as lacking wisdom. Wise people don’t isolate themselves.

About The Straight Truth Podcast

The Straight Truth Podcast: Christian Opinions in an Increasingly Secular World. Join Dr. Richard Caldwell, Dr. Josh Philpot, and their guests as they discuss news events, current affairs, and cultural issues from a Biblical point of view. Find the truth at www.straighttruth.net

The Straight Truth Podcast is a weekly opinion show hosted by Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot. Straight Truth is available as an audio podcast on iTunes or as a video podcast through YouTube or Vimeo.  The duration of the podcast is approximately 10 minutes. We release new episodes every Thursday.

The topics discussed in the Straight Truth Podcast are current events, matters that challenge traditional Christian values, and questions submitted by audience members. Dr. Caldwell, Dr. Philpot, and their guests seek to answer these questions with Biblical truths and from a Christian conservative point of view. The Holy Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God; it alone is and will be the basis and authority of
answering any and all questions.

The Straight Truth Podcast is the perfect podcast for those seeking to strengthen their faith, to be informed on how to broach difficult topics with a Christian point of view, to share their faith with unbelieving friends, to challenge the status quo of their own beliefs by viewing them under the lens of the Scriptures, to interpret current news events from a Biblical point of view, and more.

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Season 26 Credits Produced by
Juan Carlos Claveria Executive Producers
Joshua Philpot
David Anders Hosted by
Joshua Philpot Social Media Descriptions by
Michele Watson Graphic Design
David Navejas DP / EDITING / COLOR
JUAN CARLOS CLAVERIA SPECIAL THANKS TO THE
FOUNDERS BAPTIST CHURCH
MEDIA TEAM VOLUNTEERS Special Thanks to
El Centro Network Music by
LynneMusic Motion Graphics
The Media Stock Set Decorator
Molly Atchison

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