Reclaiming Social MediaSýnishorn

How to Control Curiosity

God has gifted human beings with a curious spirit. We are driven to know things.

But if the Fall of man proved anything, it’s that sometimes this curiosity can be dangerous. When we let curiosity become an uncontrolled and consuming flame, it burns us. And with social media, it can hurt our joy.

Imagine feeling curious about what a certain person is doing. You check their social media, only to find they are at an event you’re missing out on. Curiosity on social media hurts us when it opens us up to events we want to be at and people we want to be like, giving us a wave of discontentment.

We need to control our curiosity. 

I’m not talking about only following Christians on social media, or only following people who are in a similar life stage as you. I’m talking about having a purpose behind why we are on social media.

When we scroll on social media with no purpose, our curiosity is uncontrolled. But with a purpose, we’re filtering the information we’re looking for. We avoid the drains of envy and FOMO (fear of missing out) and get just what we need.

I’m inspired by Paul’s control over curiosity. He traveled to churches everywhere preaching the Gospel and was intentional in his communication with them. He sent letters asking specific questions, and he got specific reports about the church's activities. He didn't want to know everything. He let his values and sense of mission filter the information he received.

We too can have a similar filter. We can start engaging social media with a sense of purpose, only seeking the information that will benefit us and glorify God. In doing so, we can spend more time on mission with God, and less time envying His creation.

Let's reclaim social media for joy. 

Today, pray that God would reclaim your relationship with social media and use it as another way to glorify Him.

Was this Plan helpful? If so, learn more about practical, Biblical joy at https://nealsamudre.com/reclaiming/.