Are We All Braggarts Now?

WSJ: “Are We All Braggarts Now?”

Last week, while we were talking about the temptation to compare ourselves to others when using Facebook or Twitter, Elizabeth Bernstein of the Wall Street Journal was examining the other side of the social media coin–the rise in online bragging and how we respond:

“Clearly, the Internet has given us a global audience for our bombast, and social media sites encourage it. We’re all expected to be perfect all the time. The result is more people carefully stage-managing their online image….

‘It’s become a phenomenon where if someone posts a status update and 500 people see it and no one objects, it must be true,’ says Jennifer Mirsky, 45, a digital content strategist in New York.

‘But could it really be that everyone else has a husband as thoughtful as the heroes of romance novels, children who combine the brilliance of Einstein with the winning charms of Shirley Temple, and jobs packed with wall-to-wall glamorous events?’ (Read More…)

As Christians, our Facebook wall should not be a boastful façade, but a true reflection of who we are in Christ. We should not present ourselves as “perfect all the time,” but as striving for holiness because our Savior was “perfect all the time.”

Instead of “stage-managing” our online image we should focus on serving others.

In other words, our Facebook feed should display humility born of the gospel.

So before you press “publish” ask yourself:

~Does this post paint a true or false picture of who I really am and what my life is like?

~Am I seeking to serve and edify, or to impress people with this tweet?

~Does this content draw attention to me, or to my Savior who has been so good to me?

Let’s not be braggarts now, or ever.

“Do nothing [on Facebook or Twitter] from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3