The Power of a Post: social media matters

Within a couple of finger taps I can be on the emotional and sometimes intellectual roller coaster known as my facebook news feed.  With every upward stroke I am brought new experiences of thought, circumstance and emotion.  My friends are all there providing comments on their lives and I admit that I enjoy much of the play-by-play commentary they post.  But sometimes, I wish facebook would interject a pop up barrier that says something like, "ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO POST THIS?" Maybe then some of them would think twice before posting.  Why?  Because words have weight and therefore, posts have power.

What you state in your "status" matters a great deal because you have influence.  Words stir up hearts and minds in ways that we are often unaware.  With just a few key strokes we have the power to shape other people's thoughts, ideas, opinions and perspectives.  Alongside that, if it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then we may need to think three times about the images we use and post.

Life Group leaders need to be aware of  the power of a post.  When we say "yes" to leadership we give up "our right" to say anything and everything that is on our minds.  Why? because we become carriers of our church name and with that it's vision, mission and core values.  More importantly, we are Christ's ambassadors and carry His name, vision, mission and core values!  So, instead, of "What's on your mind?", leaders ask a different question... "What's the wise thing for me to say or share".  Of course, when I say "wise" I am not talking about making every status update a Benjamin Franklin quote, instead I'm talking about weighing words, thinking things through, and understanding and even leveraging influence.

For instance, if I say,  "I can't wait until this day is over!"  You could read a number of things into that status statement.  You might think... "Oh, poor Todd is having a really bad day."  or you might think... "Wow, Todd is excited!  He and Tami must have some really fun evening plans."  With a post like that, I may even run the risk of having you think that I hate my job.  In any case, saying "what's on my mind", might put the wrong idea in yours!  Life Group leaders, please think twice before you post.  Perhaps Philippians 4:8 can serve as a filter for us all.  If it helps, change the last part "think about such things" to post such things.

Philippians 4:8

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.