When posting online, the “click bait” individual has a striking ability to draw you in with emotions like humor and sarcasm, captivating your attention and masking the truth. However, once you genuinely “see” beyond the façade, the allure swiftly dissipates, leaving you with a lingering sense of emptiness and disillusionment. The reality of who they truly are fails to hold your focus, and you’re left to grapple with the feeling of having been misled.

You can find these people using social media. And sometimes these people are us.
Social media is a powerful stage. There we can show the world our outward best and align ourselves with trending topics which we hope will gain us attention and acceptance.

If done well, this online practice can boost careers, build a base of followers, and create the illusion of success and happiness that others, we often hope, would envy. Suffice it to say, if our lives truly looked like many of our social media accounts, the world would see us as successful, accomplished and enviable. This is where a false image created may attract others…and lead followers and subscribers to believe it is real.

But let’s face it, there is a very dark and deceptive side to living your life out online.

What if it’s not real life? What if it’s forged? Not many people are willing to share their struggles on the internet, right? And even fewer would let their followers see them in tough situations.

What about hidden things? Not wanting to post negative things like depression, anxiety, and addiction on our online platforms is understandable. But creating an unrealistic view of life could lead to mistrust, and even misplaced jealousy among our followers who see our curated perfection. This concealment could potentially undermine our testimonies of how God has transformed us, especially if we want to encourage and evangelize others.

The motivation to share a beautiful life online might come from a desire to counter the negative perceptions some may have of us. It may be perceived as a way to gently reclaim our narrative.

So for the Christian, how does God view our online personas? What does the Word have to say to us about giving an image of ourselves that may not be completely true?

“⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Colossians 3: 9, 10

As Christians, we are called to a greater level of honesty. Whether posting stories on our social media accounts or sharing with people in person, our conversations should be filled with truth. This doesn’t mean you have to “air dirty laundry” online. It simply means that we are to represent ourselves with honesty, dignity and consistency when we post online, particularly our personal stories…which are our testament to God’s goodness and faithfulness.

So know that these shared experiences not only become part of our testimony about the goodness and glory of God, our Heavenly Father, they advance the Gospel and strengthen the faith of those who hear them. And more importantly, our testimonies declare the works of the Lord in our lives. And when we post online, giving God honor and glory should be our primary objective.

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”
1 Chronicles 16: 8

Until next time…be blessed. vw1.