DAY SEVEN: The Internet For Good

While we should heed the warnings and beware of the pitfalls of the Internet, we should not waste time wishing we lived in a bygone era. We should not long for the 1950’s or the 1850’s or the 1050’s. God has planted us here, in this age, to live out his kingdom purposes. He is not, at this moment, wringing his hands over the Internet.

Redeeming The Internet

This is why I cringe a little bit when well-meaning Christians want to totally write off the promise of the digital age. It’s foolish to uncritically embrace every new innovation, but it’s also foolish to condemn every new innovation. And in many ways, our laments about the Internet are not laments about pixels and bytes and cables and screens, but laments about the human condition, the worst of which is just newly exposed because of new communication tools. The Internet is us. So rather than writing off social media and other platforms as irredeemable, let’s be intentional about creating and communicating truth and beauty with the tiny corner of the Internet we control.

How do we do this? How do we steward our words and images well online? I think we first begin with another question: How can I make the Internet a better place? How can I make my corner of the Internet a better place? I can’t control the trolls that make a sport of attacking public figures. I can’t stop the cycle of shame that greets Twitter every morning with fresh objects of derision. But I can bring joy and humor, prophetic words and gentle grace.

We face this choice with every piece of content we choose to make public online, whether it’s a tweet or a Facebook post or an article or a podcast. There is a temptation, especially for creators, to withdraw, to let the cynicism of the age stifle our creative gifts. But to create, to make something is an act of rebellion against the darkness, a sliver of light that points to a better world.

This is why I do what I do. Sure, I like getting paid for books and articles and other pieces of content. And I enjoy meeting gifted people I bring onto my podcast for interviews. But I also create because I believe that by creating, I’m offering my feeble gifts to serve the church and love my neighbor.

If you are a creator of any kind, even if all you create is social media posts, you must do this too. The digital world needs more light, more hope, more grace. To be an image-bearer is not to sit on our gifts but to use them to create as our Creator creates. We can be the solution to an uncivil, ugly world of social media. Even when we speak up for the vulnerable or declare truth to a world of confusion, we can contribute to a better, more edifying Internet. 

READ: 

Ecclesiastes 3:18

Matthew 28:18-20 

PRAY: 

Dear Jesus, Help me make the Internet a better place. Help me create posts that glorify you and bring your light, hope, and grace to those who need it most. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

This plan was adapted from A Way with Words: Using Our Online Conversations for Good by Daniel Darling. Visit awaywithwordsbook.com to find out more.