We chastise those who ignore biblical commands about unity, love, and gentleness on social media to speak evil in the name of Christ. This is a real concern but recently I have become concerned about the opposite problem – our tendency to post every act of ministry and every good deed on social media. When we live our lives on social media, when we post our quiet time shots (open Bible and steaming coffee), trumpet how many got saved or baptized at church, rejoice publicly at all the great things happening at our churches and in our lives, there is a danger that we could be violating a command Jesus gave in Matthew 6.
Our stated goal in these posts is always to give glory to God, and it is not my place nor my intent to question anyone’s motives, but if every ministry or family event of your life goes on social media with a selfie, a smile, and a glowing testimony of how great everything is, I would ask you to consider what I am saying today.
Living for God, NOT for People
I was considering a post about some good things happening here at my little Nebraska church and this passage in Matthew 6:1-21 began to ping-pong around in the empty cavities of my mind. Jesus spoke of giving, praying, fasting, and laying up treasures in heaven, not on earth. A common theme weaves throughout, the command to live for the glory of God, not the admiration of other people. The theme is stated in verse 1.
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6:1
After stating this theme, Jesus gives three examples of religious practices that illustrate it. I have a simple question. Are we not in danger, when we publicly post our own good deeds on social media, of violating Jesus’ commands in this passage?
Verses 2-4 tell us not to be like the “hypocrites” sound trumpets when they give alms so the whole world will see and know how great they are. They give to get attention and gain the high opinions of others. There are two clear motives for their actions.
- They call attention to themselves (though they likely give glory to God with their words).
- Their motivation is to have people think well of them (and according to Jesus, their only reward).
The familiar Lord’s Prayer, verses 5-14, speaks of standing and praying in the synagogue to be seen by others. It also speaks of heaping up empty phrases, perhaps relying on rhetoric and verbiage over a sincere heart.
Jesus’ command, in Matthew 6:6, is brutally simple.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Public prayer is one thing, but publicizing our prayers to gain attention is another. Pray to speak to God, not to impress people. How absurd it is to pray to Almighty God with a motive to gain favor with other people!
The third section, verses 16-18, is about fasting, a practice of religious devotion and sacrifice. Jesus is crystal clear here – do it in secret and don’t trumpet your practice to the world to tell them how holy and sacrificial you are.
The theme of verse 1 carries through the entire passage. If we do our good deeds to be seen by others and to be thought well of by them, that is all the reward we will receive. God knows our hearts and all eternal reward is forfeit.
Most commentaries view verses 19-21 as the start of a new section, but perhaps it is also a summary of verses 1-18.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Could it be that Jesus is telling us that when we live for the applause of others, we are storing up treasures on earth, and it will all go away? Our platforms, our followers, and our following are subject to moths and rust and are so easily taken. Maybe Jesus was reminding us to live for him and him alone, to give for his glory, to pray for his power, to seek him, and not the applause of humanity. My social media following is an earthly treasure and can only become a heavenly treasure if I use it totally for his glory and honor.
It is the Spirit’s job to convince and convict our hearts. You could be active on social media with the purest of heavenly motives and I could have nearly identical posts with an earthly, hypocritical heart. Only the indwelling Spirit can sort that out. My concern is that we as Christians are in danger of allowing our social media activity to turn us into religious Kardashians, spiritual social media influencers. The question is whether our motive in life is the glory and pleasure of God or the attention of humanity. Are we living for him or for social media likes and Twitter traffic?
While only the Spirit can answer that question for us, it is one we should consider.
Here are some things I know about preachers.
- Many of our churches are difficult and ministry is hard.
- Our social media posts often present a false view of our lives – all is well, nothing to see here, a form of false advertising!
I was cleaning out a room in my first church, many moons ago, and came across a box of old weekly church newsletters. The first week of April of a bygone year, the former pastor talked about how heaven had come down and glory had filled their souls on Sunday. The second week was better than the first. The third week made me believe that revival was about to break out at that church. The fourth newsletter in the series carried his resignation letter. I knew that he resigned under pressure after a very difficult time of conflict in the church. This was long before social media, but he was not telling the truth in those newsletters.
Social media shows where our treasure is. Do our posts serve to give people a favorable opinion of us and our work? Are we seeking to impress others with our posts? Are we violating Christ’s command to store up treasures in heaven and instead working to be seen by others and to be thought well of by them? It’s something to think about, isn’t it?
Sound No Trumpet
I was struck by Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:2 commanding his followers to “sound no trumpet” when they gave their alms, when they performed their acts of service to the Lord. The hypocritical Pharisees trumpeted their religious acts to call attention to themselves, to impress the world, to make sure everyone knew what they were doing.
It seems pretty clear to me that the trumpet-blowing Pharisees would feel right at home trumpeting their spiritual successes on social media, just like we do.
Questions to Consider
- Is it possible that our constant, almost compulsive posting on social media violates Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 6 about doing our righteous acts to be seen by others?
- Is it possible that we are violating Jesus’ command to “sound no trumpet” when we post our spiritual victories and acts of service for Christ in public?
- Jesus spoke often in this passage about “hypocrites” – those who presented a version of themselves that was not accurate. If we present a version of ourselves on social media that is not true, or is only half true, if we only post our victories and not our struggles, if it makes people think all is well when it isn’t, is that hypocritical?
- A question I’ve been asking myself, and sometimes not liking the answer – Is my social media storing up treasures on earth, or treasures in heaven?
I am no one’s Holy Spirit. All I can say is that the Holy Spirit troubled me about this and I wonder if maybe there’s a biblical issue here that we should consider. Have at it.
