The Pride in Social Networking

If you're reading this, that means you probably got the link from Twitter or someone posted a link on FaceBook.  These social networks, have become something of an oddity.  We once believed in privacy, in being able to find a quiet corner, disconnect, and maybe even get away without anyone knowing.

This is really tough with the advent of FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace (err...  my|_| whatever that matters...).  Many of us post constantly, repost things others have said, and post to both FaceBook and Twitter at the same time.  It's part email, part chat, part over consuming.  We have draw away from our privacy for a more connected world.  The question I propose is at what cost.

If you're on Twitter, there's a hashtag #serve4seven that lists a lot of people doing things for other people.  The one that caught my attention was a retweet from Pete Wilson, one of the Christian bloggers I follow.  The retweet said:

RT @KriSheena1: @crosspoint_tv bought a homeless man lunch...shine your light and let the whole world see #serve4seven

At first I was, wow, cool.  Then I clicked on the hastag, and then I began to read, and I smiled, a lot, and I was lifted up out of the yucky I was feeling, and then the thought came to me: I wonder how many people are posting to get recognized for posting, instead of just doing the action to serve.

I, in no way shape or form, am saying these actions to serve are out of pride.  I can't take away the service these people are doing for God.  I can't take that from them, at all, I don't have the ability.  In all honesty, and in agreement with everything I personally have grown to consider, I actually do believe God's work is being done, and that hashtag will be revisited by me more than once this week.

I am in love with the fact that so many people can stay in contact on so many different levels.  Was I excited when I won a guitar pedal from Lee Bezotte or he posted a comment on this blog? Heck Yeah!  Did I go fan boy nuts when Damon Lindelof responded and retweeted my Lost love? YES, yes I did! (I still have days where I just look at the retweet).  How much of a dork did I become when Paul Steinbrueck commented on a post one his tweets inspired me? A lot!  Am I giddy that I have a copy of Churched coming signed from Matthew Paul Turner? More than I should.  I'll be honest, I was happy to see my pastor comment on my New American Hymnal post.  Do these people know what kind of impact they have on me?  Probably not, well, maybe Turner because he knows these kinds of things, it's weird.

Social Media is a little on the narcissistic side.  We post things thinking people want to hear about it.  Some of us even vlog, hoping that something we say or do makes an impression on someone.  I personally do it because I think more people need to laugh.  I'm all about laughing to me.  Yes, I can be really serious most of the time, but sometimes, we really just need to laugh.  My vlogs are about that...

Anyway, back to being narcissistic...

I believe that in the moment of an action, we do because we want to do.  I doubt anyone really plans to go and do good.  Yes, there are some planning stages involved, but no one has ever probably said "Okay, I'm going to plan to plan to go and feed the homeless" all the while having no real desire to feed the homeless.  I've never been lead to do something like that.  I have wanted to send shoes to children, or help with a women's shelter, raise money for cancer research, but I've never really been lead to feed the homeless.  It's not something God has placed on my heart.  I'm not saying it's something I wouldn't do, but it's not something I could just start out of thin air.

In that same sense, in the moment of doing, I believe we are in service to those in need, and in turn, in service to God.  When we take that moment of service and smear it with our ego and pride, it is no longer a service to God.  We are in service to ourselves, creating an idol of ourselves in place of God's image.  It sounds drastic, but it's the truth.  We wedge pride into service and it becomes a giant spectacle of our egotistical ways.  When we constantly do good and parade it in front of people, we're no longer doing good, but being selfish.  It's the two year old mentality: "look what I can do!"

I'm not saying every post on Twitter is ego driven.  I believe God uses all the tools He has given His people (yes, I believe God gave us Twitter as much as God gave us life), and sometimes it only take one tweet to brighten even the darkest of days.

Grace and Peace,
Jesse