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Every social media platform has its own personality. Facebook is a great vehicle to keep connected with family, but it can be filled with conspiracies. Twitter can be fun and informative, but it can also be cruel and joyless. Instagram can be a nice place to share photos and short videos with family and friends, but it can also be extraordinarily shallow.

Some people are Instagram celebrities. They have carefully cultivated an image that sells. They attract a following that allows them to sponsor products and reap benefits.

As our lives are being lived more online in recent years, many things have changed about us. Our attention spans have slowly been reduced. Our ability to be in the moment for more than just a moment has degraded. We are always connected and yet not really connected to anyone.

Those personal changes also impact our walk with God. Conspiracies and political idolatry can creep into our sojourn. Our lives, which should be filled with joy, can become heartless and harsh. Our discipleship can become hollow.

Give thought for just a moment to how our Christianity can become the worst of Instagram.

Polished

We all want to see nice pictures. Framing and lighting are important. Good Instagram posts are polished.

Christianity is often raw and unvarnished. The Bible is full of mistakes, missteps, and sins. Peter denied our Lord and was opposed by Paul (Galatians 2:11). The prophets suffered, the disciples had doubts, John tried to worship an angel.

We serve a persecuted Savior, and we will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).  Jesus told his disciples, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Jesus expects those who choose to follow him to first count the cost (Luke 14:25-33). We cannot gloss over the difficulties of the Way.

Entertaining

Good Instagram posts are entertaining. There are amazing musicians and spectacular sports highlights on Instagram.

It can be tempting to try to make Christianity entertaining. Rewarding? Yes! Entertaining? Not really. Worship is not like a concert or sporting event. We must not be spectators. We are to engage in worship to God.

Christianity does not need to be dull or humorless. The Bible is the most amazing book known to man. A disciple of Jesus must be filled with joy. We are all familiar with the admonition, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Jesus wants his disciples to be filled with joy to the overflowing (see John 15:11). But we must not sell Christianity as a spectator event. It must be lived!

Staged

Have you ever seen “behind the scenes” of some of these Instagram photos? What appeared to be the perfect setting in some exotic locale, is really a kiddie pool in a cramped backyard.

We want to present the best and hide the worst. Yet the best doesn’t happen without hard labor. The wise man, Solomon, once wrote, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” (Proverbs 14:4).

There is value in showing people the labor and sweat. We are real people! Life is messy. I am not perfect, nor are you. At some point people will come into contact with our failings. Presenting something less than the full frame will only make those moments of failure more embarrassing.

If you enjoy sharing photos on Instagram that’s great! Hey, maybe you make a little money along the way. Be a good representative of Jesus as you go.

But let us not give in to the temptation to live or promote the Instagram version of Christianity. That is not what Jesus died for, and it is not what he is coming back to save (Hebrews 9:28). Be real, be you, be like Jesus. BY LEE PARISH from http://forthright.net/2021/03/02/instagram-christianity/?fbclid=IwAR1HthKakbX61UAlALt0UK_GtGIvw3C-vJIJidS_USMAKrkr9zLM6d-d8fE

“GOD LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE!” – MIKE

While homosexuality has been the hotly-debated political issue for Christians over the last few years, the agendas of godless activists have continually been pushed behind the scenes in ways we might have predicted but certainly didn’t expect to see so soon. Consider the issue of transgendered people, those who are born a certain sex but decide they are psychologically the other. The argument made is that there is a difference between your sex (determined by the actual body parts with which you are born) and your gender (determined by which one you decide you are). While the homosexual battle has been fought for decades now, the advocates of “anything goes” sexual norms were much smarter about their push for transgendered acceptance. They simply did all the work behind the scenes and revealed it all at once, as has happened in the last year or two. Consider a few examples.

The Question: Boy or Girl?

The June 9 issue of Time magazine features a cover story on Laverne Cox, who was born a boy but made the decision to become a woman, saying “I just thought I was a girl and that there was no difference between girls and boys. I think in my imagination I thought that I would hit puberty and I would start turning into a girl.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has stated that sex-reassignment surgeries will be covered by taxpayer dollars under Medicaid because they are “medically necessary.”

Laws have been passed in cities in California, Colorado, and even Texas to ensure the rights of transgendered people to use the public restroom of their choice, including full legal protection against any person who might have a problem with the presence of someone of the opposite sex in the restroom.

Here’s what Christians need to know about transgendered issues:

1. As with homosexuality, nobody is “born that way”

We’ve often pointed to the fact that, despite millions of dollars and great efforts put in by those who wanted to believe in it, a gay gene was never discovered. Even gay historians have conceded that the 21st century argument that homosexuality is innate is something all of human historical understanding contradicts. The same can be said for transgender people. Similar to homosexuality, transgenderedness was medically considered a mental disorder until recently – chemically more a matter of gender misidentity than gender identity. The factors that make a person choose the opposite gender have long been understood as tied to uncertain childhood environments and confusion as a child, something Lavern Cox even pointed to in the Time interview. Modern sexual acceptance doesn’t change those facts.

2. God doesn’t make mistakes

In the creation account we can see exactly what God intended for mankind when Genesis says, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them… Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:27, 31a). One cannot believe in God’s sovereignty, biblical inerrancy, and the created order of male/female relationships and still buy into the idea that people were put in the wrong body. Sure, the schools (one of the first places transgender restrooms were debated) and our culture in general will try to educate young people to tolerate those who are not content living as the person God made them, but we must continue to speak the truth and hold the line where God’s Word created it. Additionally, the Bible also speaks out against those who are effeminate (1 Corinthians 6:9), proving that God expects people to live as they are created.

3. We need to be prepared

Just as homosexuality is beginning to hit the church, with lawsuits occurring in other countries that won’t be far behind here, transgender people will want to be accepted unconditionally by churches as well. While we should treat all people equally – as sinners like us in need of God’s love – parents should be very wary of the people around their families as transgendered restroom use opens the possibility of all kinds of new dangers.

We live in a world that needs God as much as it ever has and a country that is as far from Him as it ever has been. That doesn’t mean our cause is hopeless. The one positive lesson we can learn from the homosexual and transgender communities is that consistent, tireless, coordinated efforts to spread their message have worked out perfectly according to plan. Until we are so dedicated to our goal of turning our culture back to Christ that we put aside all distractions and work together with one goal and one mind, we’ll never enjoy the success they have. With God’s guidance and a lot of prayer we can do it, though. Let’s win this battle. Soldiers of Christ, arise! BY BRAD HARRUB –