byWhen you spend so much time on your phone, responding to likes and constantly checking for notifications, you need to ask what you are looking for. What emptiness are you trying to fill? There is evidence to prove that social media is a gateway to depression. Yet this same tool can be extremely useful to God. How are you using it, and are you honing your discernment on social media? Not everything that falls outside viewing porn on social media is automatically good or beneficial. Even innocent content can drain your time, distort your values, and shift your focus away from what truly matters. God is calling you to be wise about what you allow into your mind and heart. Continue to read and find out ways to control your social media life.
Reality vs. Perception
What do you see on social media? Images carefully curated to present an idealised version of life? What do you hear? Messages that often appeal to our insecurities and desires. What is really there? Usually, a partial truth, at best, is filtered through algorithms designed to keep you engaged.
Social media is a facade of what we really want our lives to look like. Before rushing to go and end that relationship or hurt that person because of a post or reel you saw, stop and take a look at the reality. Social media puts people into this daze. It makes people self-sabotage their lives and actual physical relations without realising it. You need to come to see social media for what it really is. It’s an open platform where people air all their thoughts, ideas and inspirations but also their anger, hatred and depression, and it is poisonous and infectious. What you perceive is never altogether all there is to what you see. With everything you see on social media, take it with a pinch of salt.
Who is Your God?
What captures your attention most? Or do you spend hours scrolling through feeds without realising it? These could be signs that social media has taken a place in your life that only God should have. Exodus 20:3 gives us a clear command: “You shall have no other gods before me.” That isn’t just about statues or other religions. It’s about anything that takes priority in your heart and mind. Many people spend hours daily on social media without thinking twice, yet they struggle to spend even minutes praying or reading Scripture. It shouldn’t be you.
Know God for Yourself
True discernment comes from knowing God intimately through His Word and prayer. Today, there are several online churches and preachings circulating widely. As stated earlier, the platform can be used to advance God’s Word, but it can also be used to falsify it as well. Don’t just drink in and believe everything you see online. Be careful of false teachings. To be able to know and differentiate a lie from the truth, you must be well-versed in the Word. The more you fill yourself with God’s truth, the more easily you can identify what aligns with His character and what doesn’t, even on social media.
Most importantly, be ready to study for yourself. You don’t need a pastor or influencer to mediate your relationship with God. Sometimes, we don’t even know the spirit behind those who create these messages. So, before you follow the popular pastors and churches giving motivational quotes and prosperity preaching, focus on what you’ve learned that is true. As Philippians 4:8 reminds us, “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.”
Practical Steps for Discernment on Social Media
First, set intentional boundaries for your social media use. Be it time restrictions or limitations to apps you go on. It is also advisable to practice regular digital fasts to reset your perspective. Finally, fill your feed with content that encourages spiritual growth. The algorithm will only give you what you interact well with. It responds to your engagement patterns and shows you what it anticipates you will like from previous likes, reposts and comments. So, by deliberately choosing to interact with content that nurtures your faith, you can actually transform your feed into a place that draws you closer to God and provides spiritual nourishment even during difficult times. That will create an environment that strengthens your walk with Christ rather than distracting from it.
Conclusion
In summary, God calls us to be wise about what we allow into our minds and hearts. Are you being wise? Social media is designed to keep you engaged at all times. Living this way, you might miss the real focus of life, disconnect from your fellow Christians, and find yourself isolated—becoming the perfect target for the evil one. So be wise and control the internet; don’t let it control you. Today, you can start by creating an environment that strengthens your walk with Christ rather than distracting from it.
