The Facebook factor

Xanthe Galanis

Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.  Proverbs 10:18-19

How many friends do you have? If the first number that jumps to mind is your Facebook friend count, you're probably someone who, like me, builds and maintains friendships online. These days, it's impossible to talk about friendship without mentioning social media. How do we, as Christians, negotiate online friendships?

Of course, the Bible isn't specific on what is and is not appropriate for status updates, but there are principles for friendship that are applicable online. After all – Paul, Peter and John wrote letters to Christians they often never met. These letters were read aloud and passed from church to church. Sound familiar? Today we'd call that viral marketing.

The primary call for Christians is to show love, to grow into the love of Jesus Christ and to reflect his grace and truth into the world. In a face-to-face conversation, we try to show support and care, and we work hard not to say the first thing that comes out of our mouths, particularly mean-spirited or spiteful things. How much more so do we need to exercise the same prudence online! I'll be the first to raise my hand and admit that I've embarrassed myself publicly many times because of what slips off my tongue, and online things can be far worse. A status update that feels right at the time often looks horribly inappropriate the next day - after dozens of people have seen it. For me, it's been a learning and maturing process on what to say online, what to say to friends in person, and what to keep to myself.

Facebook can be a wonderful tool for building and maintain friendships as long as we remember that words carry power; not just spoken words, but the hastily typed comments and updates.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for my online friends. Help me to exercise the same prudence online as I would in person and to use the internet to reflect your truth into the world. Amen.