September Blog

Title: The Christian in the Ultra-Noisy World of the Internet

A Google Ai search for “how much online information does an American read or see in a day” gave me these results: The average American spends approximately 7 hours a day looking at screens connected to the internet (work and personal). He/she spends an average of 4.5 hours on their smartphone and 2 hours on social media. I think you would agree with me that that is a lot of information we are exposed to in a day! That is a lot of noise. That is a lot of voices. That is a lot of people who wield some degree of true, perceived, or fake authority, trying to gain your attention. How should a Christian navigate this inevitable, influential online world we live in? This is a question that is far beyond one, short blog to address well. However, it’s a topic on my heart for sure. May I give us three principles, based on scripture, which can act as a rudder to help us navigate these waters.

1. We need to seek WISDOM from God and exercise DISCERMENT.

Wisdom is a character trait that is highly valued in both the Old and New Testaments. Biblical wisdom is defined as the careful and appropriate use of knowledge; often gained over years of experience. The Bible tells us the fear (reverence/submission) of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10), that God loves to grant wisdom (James 1:5) and that the Word of God teaches us how to be wise (2 Tim. 3:16). Wisdom enables us to avoid bad and follow good. Wisdom is a dependable guide and grants the reward of peace in life. Of course, we have to exercise wisdom too. The word the Bible often uses for this is “discernment”. The word appears over 40x in the New Testament. It means to properly judge, evaluate, test and distinguish. Wow, those are good words for today as we consider the topic of this blog. Philippians 1:9-10 says, “it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” Discernment takes both patience and mental energy – but its reward is great.

2. We need to KNOW THYSELF to establish a healthy balance.

God has made us all different. God has given us all different influences in our life stories that make up how we think, feel and act. We all have certain personalities, preferences, strengths, weaknesses. To navigate our busy online world today, you need to know yourself. This is an extension of discernment stated above. The internet itself is not good or evil. It is simply an information source, and more recently a place to connect with other people relationally. But, you need to think through what aspects of the internet are tempting, distracting, depressing,

frustrating or evil for YOU personally and try to limit, or avoid, that “side” of the internet. Likewise, you may be able to use the internet in a healthy, balanced way for yourself and the good of others. That’s good. Seek God in prayer about this. Be honest with your self- assessment. Be courageous to practice internet use in a way that is healthy for YOU.

3. We need to REMEMBER where our ultimate voice of AUTHORITY lies.

Finally, can anyone guess who, or what, is this ultimate voice of authority in our lives as Christians? I hope your answer was the Holy Bible – God’s inspired, sufficient and authoritative word. There are a thousand voices claiming your attention, saying they are an authority on the internet. The Bible tells us we must test all things through the lens or filter of the ultimate true, authority in the world – God Himself as He has shown Himself through the Bible (2 Pet. 1:20- 21, 1 John 4:1). We are so privileged to know God and know the truth as Christians. Always remember to keep your feet firmly planted on the solid rock of Jesus and the Bible. The world is surely sifting sand (Matt. 7:24-27) in so many ways.

4. Try an Internet fast.

Let me add one more. Think about putting your phone down, closing your laptop or turning off your desktop for the evening or even for a day. Maybe even challenge your family to do so too. Find something else to do with your time. Let people know you’re taking a “phone fast” for the day. Who knows, that might inspire them to do so too. Most everyone admits we spend too much time on our devises these days. I hope these four points will be helpful to you, and maybe others in your life, with this very real and influential issue in our lives today.