They joined the ground effort because they believed in the cause. On hands and knees, my classmates and I sifted red dirt with our fingers looking for the small square of enamel which had recently occupied a socket in my gum. I lost my tooth, literally. I lost it on the playground. The tooth fairy wouldn’t come if I didn’t find it. Right?

John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” NIV

TRUTH 

The voice in my head repeats the same phrase over and over,

Stay out of it…

I usually listen. Probably none of you are guilty, but occasionally I get lured into a link posted on Facebook. Comments blow up on both sides of a controversial issue and hateful words trigger an irresistible impulse to respond. Some days I am ready to deactivate my account.

2 Timothy 2:14, “Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out.” MSG

BREAKING MY OWN RULES

Where is the voice in my head when I need it? My button got pushed and I typed out a retort. The opinionated portion of my brain commanded my index finger to hit POST. Fortunately, my muscles and nerves don’t communicate well, so I got a few extra seconds to reconsider. I’ll count it as one of the blessings of my disease. Rather than posting my opinion, I hit another button – DELETE.

Ephesians 5:8, “Don’t participate in the things these people do. ” ESV

WHAT IS FACEBOOK FOR?

I’ve seen the complaints, Facebook isn’t for this or that. Screenshots of supper, dialogues of drama and promotion of products are condemned. Personally, I think it’s your Facebook wall, post whatever you want. Well, except snakes! Facebook is NOT for pictures of snakes. I will unfollow you if you torment me over this. After all, it’s biblical for women to hate snakes.

Genesis 3:14, 15: “Then the Lord God said to the serpent:…..I will put hostility between you and the woman….” HCSB

Okay, I’ll admit that may be a theological stretch.

GUIDELINE FOR SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of it. So I found a perfect template for social media sharing.

Philippians 4:8, “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.” NIV

Ask yourself:

• Is it true?
• Is it noble?
• Is it right?
• Is it pure?
• Is it lovely?
• Is it admirable?
• Is it excellent?
• Is it praiseworthy?

If the answer is no, keep scrolling. Remember just because it sounds good or you believe it doesn’t mean it’s true. I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said, “Everybody with internet access is an expert.” But I could be wrong.

Truth is truth. By the way, now they tell me there is no such thing as the tooth fairy anyway. Can you believe it?

AMBASSADORS

If you call yourself a Christian, you represent Christ. I challenge you:

LIVE YOUR LIFE IN SUCH A WAY OTHERS WANT WHAT YOU HAVE

Does your post, link or comment reflect the heart of Jesus? Does it draw others to Christ? Or do you propagate malicious slander, condemnation and hatefulness? Remember the world will know we are Christ-followers by our love and by our unity, not our soapbox delivery of righteousness. If I didn’t know Jesus personally, a lot of “Christian” Facebook conversations would cause me to want nothing to do with Him or His people. Pray before you post. Take the Philippians 4:8 test and let’s season our words with grace.

2 Corinthians 5:20, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead; ‘Come back to God.'” NLT

Think you are ready for the test?

Jude 2:1, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

I’d love to know, did you take the bait?

Share truth, share excellence, share this post if you want. But please, check all the facts because I am not entirely sure the internet existed in 1860.

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