Christians, we need to remember Who we’re representing when we interact with others online.

Over the past several weeks on both my personal social media feeds and those of my author platforms, I’ve noticed an issue that seems to be becoming more widespread in the online realm: Christians getting in heated debates with other Christians and/or participating in post trends that make fun of others.

Neither one of these behaviors are representative of Jesus, and it needs to stop, because this behavior is the exact opposite of what Jesus calls us to do.

Jesus Didn’t Call us to Spread Division…

Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus tell us to get in arguments with our fellow believers over man-made doctrinal issues or publicly berate those who dare have a different opinion than us, yet somewhere along the way, many Christians (myself included in the past) have decided that it’s okay to tear others down as long as we’re doing it by quoting scripture.

There’s a huge difference between quoting scripture and living scripture, y’all. If we’re just quoting it and not truly living by it, we’re lingering in dangerous territory.

And you know what else is dangerous? Being content with division.

Luke 11:17 tells us, “But [Jesus], knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.” (KJV)

Here, Jesus isn’t just referring to rival kingdoms in the literal sense. He’s referring to those of us in His own kingdom as well.

If we’re truly following Jesus’s lead, we should know better than to let trivial matters like a slight difference in opinion on what color the church pews should be or the genre norms of Christian fiction take precedent over kingdom work. When we’re following His lead, we’re taking up our cross and following Him, not taking a break to throw hands or fuss at other disciples! Come on, guys.

How are we supposed to grow the kingdom of God if we’re acting just as ornery as the world?

Spoiler alert: we won’t. Because by fighting, we’re quenching the light we’re supposed to be shining on the world. Meanwhile, while one group is building their brand of Christianity over here, and another who broke off of their church is building a rival one over there, no one who needs the Light of Jesus is receiving it from those kingdoms because they’ve built their isolating walls up so high that they’re casting shadows on anyone in their sphere of influence.

Again, acting like this is NOT how we should be representing Jesus, and it needs to stop for the sake of lost souls who need His Light.

He Called Us to Follow Him and Make Disciples.

Jesus didn’t call us to fuss and fight with fellow believers. Instead, He calls us to follow Him and make disciples. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (KJV).

He didn’t say argue with all nations.

He didn’t say baptize them in one particular doctrine over another.

Nor did He say to teach them to observe all the things that YOU believe and never take no for an answer.

Our Savior told us to go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that HE has commanded us.

When following the Great Commission, there’s no room for our opinions. There’s no room for us critiquing the opinions of other Believers in a public comment forum. There’s no room for us downing someone’s ministry efforts just because that’s not the way we would go about doing it.

All This to Say: Christians, We Shouldn’t Take Our Online Comments Lightly!

Fellow Christians, from this day forward, I implore you (as well as myself) to thoroughly think about how we’re representing Christ as we interact with others online. Are we truly representing Him in all we do and post, or are we creating division and strife within His kingdom?

Please Keep in Mind:

We don’t have to participate in every argument that pops up.

We don’t have to partake in a trend to grow our social media platforms if it involves spreading hate.

But as Christians, we DO have to spread the gospel and make disciples. That should be at the top of our task list.

So, rather than acting just like the world on social media, let’s not take the power of our comments lightly. Instead, let’s use the platforms the Lord has blessed us with to shine His Light.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

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Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀