3 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Posting On Social Media

I had just posted something on Instagram about a recent trip I went on when I something unusual caught my eye.

I got a notification that one of the “popular” girls at my school had commented on my photo.

I immediately checked it out… and it was real. Now, this girl and I had been on some teams and done some activities together, but we rarely talked so this comment caught me off-guard. Not to go into much detail (for privacy reasons), but she commented something genuinely nice about my trip. I was so excited that she took the time to do that.

This got me thinking that if ONE person with ONE comment could make me feel the way I did, then it would be easy enough and worth it to do the same for others.

With that in mind, it showed me that what you post on social media has the power to encourage someone or tear them down. Our words have serious power so we need to be careful of what we say. You may have even heard the saying that it takes 10 compliments to erase one insult.

I know for me there’s been times when I’ve been discouraged by photos of cute couples, people on fancy vacations, friends hanging out with other friends, or wished that someone followed me or liked my post– the list goes on. These photos have sometimes stirred up feelings of jealousy, comparison, frustration, and depletion of self-worth, which is NOT what social media was created to do.

That’s why I wanted to write this post: to encourage you to evaluate what you put on social media so that it’s glorifying to God and doesn’t bring harm to others.

A passage that reminded me of this was Romans 14:13-19 which says “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister….. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

So without further a do, these are 3 questions you should ask yourself before posting on social media whether it’s a tweet, a photo, a comment, a caption, etc. Recently the damage social media can cause has come up in a lot of conversations so I think it’s important that everyone is aware. I pray that God would work in your heart to evaluate what you are producing on social media.

1. Why am I posting this ______ (caption, picture, tweet, comment,etc)? This is a big question to ask yourself. What is your heart behind your posting? Are you trying to show off what you have? Are you trying to get more likes? Are you trying to be popular? Are you just trying to put out content? OR are you doing it just for fun? or because you wanted to? or because you liked the picture? This may take a while to process through, but I think this question can change a lot of things. I know for me there have been times that I didn’t post a picture on my story or account because the only reason I was posting it was to get attention (which is pretty sad if you think of it). Really though, if you heart isn’t in the right place and you’re posting things for selfish reasons, then you probably shouldn’t be posting whatever it may be.
2. Does it glorify God? This should be a question we ask really whenever we do anything. As the Bible says, we should do everything to the glory of God and represent Him well as Christians. So does what you’re posting honor God? Would it make Him proud? Now, I’m not saying everything you post has to be super Christiany and full of Bible verses, BUT if you truly are a Christian, God should be a normal part of you everyday life and affect everything you do. So do you avoid talking about your faith on your account? Do you have a Bible verse in you bio only because it looks good? Do you try to hide the fact that you’re a Christian? I ask that you would think about this closely. If you felt any one of these questions stick out to you, then maybe that’s God trying to tell you something. It’s only been about recently that I’ve started telling more people about my blog and have been posting more about God on my personal accounts. It takes a lot of courage and you may be looked down for it, but it’s a small thing we can do for our faith and the price Jesus paid on the cross for us.
3. If you were a viewer, would you find it tempting, lustful, offensive, prideful, etc.? Try to put yourself in someone else’s perspective. What would they think of your post? Could it cause them to sin in any way? Would your picture come off as bragging? It’s like asking a friend what they think and allowing to hear outside opinions/ ideas. With this mindset, we can see how our posts may be tempting for other people. For example, a picture of you in a bikini or an intimate photo of you and your boyfriend probably wouldn’t be good to post. Although we can’t control everything someone may think, we might be a promoter or cause of something harmful. That’s why I think all of us need to be cautious of what we post, and instead, post God-glorifying, wholesome, pure and encouraging things.

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I hope this post maybe gave you a new perspective on social media or some things to think about. I hope you hear where I am trying to come from. In no way am I judging, condemning or thinking that I’m perfect at it.

If you like this post, you can check out my other posts on social media here:

–The Constant Temptation of Comparison & Perfection With Social Media

–4 Things Instagram has Taught Me

–How Instagram Changed My Walk With Christ

–Numbers Do Not Define You

I hope you have a blessed day!

Love, Ainsley ❤