I must confess that I find it somewhat humorous when people insist we live in a Christian culture or country. Based off of what we often see people post on social media, that is so incredibly far from the truth!

Folks often forget that whatever you post “out there” on the internet is available to a lot of people, despite so-called “privacy” settings. Pictures and postings don’t disappear for forever, even with intentional efforts to erase. When someone “likes” a profane, violent, or sexual post on Facebook, it “pops up” in the public news feed for the entire world to see. This can certainly makes social media quite awkward for a pastor to use. Speaking personally on this issue, I simply don’t spend much time on Facebook aside from the church’s page in order to avoid developing a judgmental attitude. I suppose ignorance is bliss, I’m unable to control others, and I ought to focus on serving someone instead of potentially worrying about behavior.

Perhaps I might be more pessimistic on the topic of social media, but I rarely see redeeming qualities of this part of our 21st century world. Sure, connection with friends is important, but platforms like Facebook are incredibly addictive and bring out the worst behaviors of people. I’ve seen people cuss one another out, promote pornography, make lewd sexually-charged jokes, and even threaten to assault others.

So what are Christians to do in an area of life that seems so utterly dark most of the time?

The Arkansas Conference recently updated their social media principles, which I believe can provide Christians much guidance in our “toxic” online world. Here were a few tips that stood out to me. Many are geared specifically towards church staff and pastors, but I think it applies to absolutely everyone.

• John Wesley, after studying our faith, crafted three “General Rules” for living. You might recall reading about these during Confirmation class long ago, or for a Sunday school lesson: 1. Do no harm, 2. Do good, and 3. Attend to the ordinances of God. Do we harm others with how we use sites like Facebook? Do we actively promote good? Are we a Christian when we “log on?”
• “If you’re not sure about a post, do not post it. Political commentary, personal opinions on social issues, mixing personal and professional information, negative or vulgar language all become part of your reputation. Be aware of the potential impact on you, fellow staff and the church. Ask yourself: Is this post/information timely? Newsworthy? Most importantly: Does it reflect God’s love?”
• “When in doubt, be positive. Whether someone has posted something mean, rude or distasteful, take the high road at all times. Consider reaching out to the individual privately to discuss the issue (in a tasteful manner) rather than replying in a public format.”
• “Be aware of your social media presence. The pages and posts that you ‘like’ and ‘follow’ are also a representation of the church, whether it’s on your individual personal social media account or the church’s professional social media accounts… Do not EVER assume confidentiality when using social media!”

Hopefully we all can be more Christlike in our posting, communication, and internet surfing!

A brief illustration I used in my sermon yesterday on Godly endurance was mountain climbing. Practical examples from real life can obviously help illustrate topics of faith!

I mentioned a trip my father and I took this past summer to Washington for some mountaineering in the North Cascades. Our sermon topic definitely reminds me of several things we learned and did during that trip…

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“Know before you go”

Before gearing up to climb Mt. Baker, we had an extensive gear check. We unloaded absolutely everything for the guides to inspect and provide guidance. That way, we wouldn’t somehow forget an important item while miles away in the wilderness without cellphone reception.

Many times when facing a challenge in life, we feel ill-equipped. We think to ourselves, “Surely I could have done something to better prepare for this!” It is incredibly valuable to prepare yourself beforehand for adversity. We accomplish that through taking a spiritual “inventory” of our own life! Is there something you are struggling with right now? How might you better equip yourself to overcome it, so it doesn’t further drag you down during a challenging moment in the future?

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Depend on Brother and Sisters

For much of the climb, we were “tethered” to one another with climbing ropes and harnesses. That way, if someone fell, they wouldn’t go out of control as others would hopefully stop them with the rope and ice axes. This was incredibly helpful for icy slopes, as well as deep crevasses (dangerous cracks in the ice that can potentially be as deep as a hundred feet in the glacier itself!).

Physical activities are a great example of how important it is to have people you can trust. The same is obviously true for our faith journey. Do you have a handful of people who regularly pray for you? Do you have a few folks you can turn to in a time of crisis, whether that be family or close friends? God created us for community, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ can edify and support us along life’s journey.

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Trust Your Tools

I’ve climbed quite often and am always fascinated with the importance and mechanics of proper gear. Carabiners, cord, and rope like these pictured below can actually support and hold thousands of pounds. They might not seem like much, but they are lifesavers during moments of crisis!

Some other examples of “tools” for faith include practices such as reading scripture and an active prayer life. Are you depending on the words of God to get you through tough times? Do you communicate with God throughout both good times and bad? Never underestimate the importance of tools, no matter how “small” they might look on the outside!

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“Life is a marathon, not a sprint.”

All in all, the climb up to the top of Mt. Baker took us about 13 hours. We woke up at 1am to begin and finally came back to camp at around 2pm. Believe it or not, it was about 8.5 miles round-trip to get from our basecamp to the summit. Here was our path over several ridges and glaciers far off in the distance:

It definitely looked like a difficult challenge to begin with. But by taking our time and simply putting one foot in front of the other, we finally made it to the top. We would have become exhausted if we pushed too hard, rather than pacing ourselves.

We could all learn a thing or two from that simple lesson. When you are facing an uphill battle or lengthy journey, simply put one foot in front of the other. Allow God to lead you. Place your trust in Christ and seek his strength.

We humans are quite the experts on the sin of selfishness. We want to be in the “driver’s seat” of our life. We want what we view as ours. In fact, we frequently want what we don’t have. Even something like Facebook is literally organized to feed into this egoism as we crave “likes” and try to present the best possible version of ourself to the world.

Our sermon yesterday on Philippians 4:13 touched on our selfish tendencies when it comes to reading the bible. We almost always try to place ourselves front and center in the story! Likewise, many Christians struggle with reading this “famous” Philippians verse through a self-centered lens. We are supposedly the important park of that verse, that I can do whatever I want. God is only an afterthought or a means to an end.

I preached that it matters greatly where we place the emphasis for Philippians 4:13…

I can do all things through Christ who gives ME strength.

Versus…

I can do all things through CHRIST who gives me strength.

Hopefully we can confidently proclaim and believe the second way of reading verse 13!

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Now obviously, God can in fact give very personal messages. Hopefully we have all experienced that for ourselves, where God touches our individual life when we least expect it–whether that be the uplifting song playing on the radio, that seemingly random word of kindness from a friend, or the calming presence of the Holy Spirit during a time of stress.

But many times in our faith journey, we treat ourselves as the main character of the story. We want what God offers us, rather than pursuing God for God’s own sake. Too many times we struggle with reading the bible selfishly, only asking ourselves “What can I get out of this?“

Personal enrichment can indeed be powerful. In the same breath, however, it is worth noting that we miss out on so much more if we never get beyond asking “What can I get out of this?“

For starters, what about reading the bible to learn about God? Learning about God’s character can help us see how God loves the entire world!

What about reading scripture to educate ourselves? God gave us a mind to learn things and develop. Surely we can use it as we read the bible!

What about studying the bible to refine our walk as disciples, seeking to serve our neighbors in need? Instead of being self-centered, perhaps a better question to ask would be “What can I learn from the scriptures about loving other people?“

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Theologian Stanley Hauerwas explores this kind of idea:

For the truth is that since we are God’s good creation we are not free to choose our own stories. Freedom lies not in creating our lives, but in learning to recognize our lives as a gift. We do not receive our lives as though they were a gift, but rather our lives simply are a gift: we do not exist first and then receive from God a gift. The great magic of the Gospel is providing us with the skills to acknowledge our life, as created, without resentment and regret. Such skills must be embodied in a community of people across time, constituted by practices such as baptism, preaching, and the Eucharist, which become the means for us to discover God’s story for our lives.

In other words, we live out God’s story instead of our own.

As you study scripture, I would caution against being self-centered. In the big picture, we are participants in God’s story throughout history. Instead of me being the main character, obviously God should be!

And all this talk about stories and “main characters” naturally leads to another powerful idea. Since we are a part of God’s story, we ought to tell that story to others. You might recall a classic hymn we often sing in church that illustrates this point:

1. I love to tell the story 
of unseen things above, 
of Jesus and his glory, 
of Jesus and his love.  
I love to tell the story, 
because I know ’tis true; 
it satisfies my longings 
as nothing else can do.  
Refrain: 
I love to tell the story, 
’twill be my theme in glory, 
to tell the old, old story 
of Jesus and his love. 

2. I love to tell the story; 
more wonderful it seems 
than all the golden fancies 
of all our golden dreams.  
I love to tell the story, 
it did so much for me; 
and that is just the reason 
I tell it now to thee.  
(Refrain) 

3. I love to tell the story; 
’tis pleasant to repeat 
what seems, each time I tell it, 
more wonderfully sweet.  
I love to tell the story, 
for some have never heard 
the message of salvation 
from God’s own holy Word.  
(Refrain) 

4. I love to tell the story, 
for those who know it best 
seem hungering and thirsting 
to hear it like the rest.  
And when, in scenes of glory, 
I sing the new, new song, 
’twill be the old, old story 
that I have loved so long. 
(Refrain) 

This message is so countercultural in our selfish sort of world. It goes against what we personally want. It goes against simply telling “my story” for boastful purposes. Yet as Christians, we are called to continually surrender our will and pursue God’s. We abandon our desires, and take on being Christlike. We hopefully toss aside our plan in favor of God’s perfect plan.