I will no longer talk politics on social media.
There. I said it.
You may be thinking, “So what? This chick probably isn’t very politically minded anyways.”
Wrong.
I’m a musician, and to be honest, I rarely know the top hits of the day because my radio is always tuned into news talk stations. I’m extremely well-informed. My kids are almost as well informed as I am. I keep my thumb on the political pulse of our world every day. No, that’s not why I’m giving up talking politics on social media.
“But, Tara,” my friends say, “the stakes have never been higher. The United States is at a tipping point.” I get it. I really do. And trust me, I’m on my knees daily, praying that the apocalypse that we are about to descend into will somehow be reversed by God’s mercy. I can tell from the looks on their faces they think I’m just discouraged about the upcoming elections, weary of all the talk, the mud-slinging, the scandals. I am, but not in the way they think.
I’m giving up talking politics on social media because of Christians like myself.
These past several weeks have been eye-opening. Accusations and name calling. Assumptions and judgmental barbs flung like daggers. Temper tantrums and junior high style snarky posts about people without technically calling the person by name. Passive aggressive behavior. “I can’t believe a Christian would support this candidate.” “I can’t believe any Christian wouldn’t support this candidate.”Blah, blah, blah. Snark, snark, snark. Sin, sin, sin.
And all the while, unbelievers watch, watch, watch.
The number of people who can state their opinion in a calm way without stirring up a hornet’s nest of vitriol are shockingly few. Fewer still are those who can scroll through Facebook without be constantly offended by someone or something.
All of it breaks my heart.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no holier-than-thou. I’ve done it too. That’s the problem. One crazy item in the news and my emotions fire up. Then my fingers start typing and before I know it, I’m in an argument with some dude I barely knew in high school over a political issue that neither of us are experts about.
A niggling unease has been building in my spirit for the past several weeks and I’ve had troubling identifying just why it was there. Every time I opened Facebook and saw yet another heated interchange between fellow Christians, it only grew worse. (This is aside from my normal aversion to confrontation.) Suddenly one day it hit me: we talk about what we’re passion about. And all I’m seeing plastered across social media is politics.
That’s well and good if you don’t know Jesus, but as a believer, we are called to something, no, to Someone much higher.
I have friends in my social media accounts from various walks of life. Some are conservatives and some are liberals. Some are straight and some are gay. Some have been in church all their lives and some have never even stepped foot inside a church building. If I’m not careful, I can forget that my life (including social media) is no longer my own. It’s God’s. I’ve been bought with a price. I have a tremendous opportunity to each the farthest corners of the globe with His message of hope. But what do I do? I get on Facebook and squabble about the election.
No more.
If my opinion becomes a stumbling block to someone receiving Christ,
If venting my opinion spirals into an angry exchange or even a perceived angry exchange,
If those who read my words can no longer see Christ in me,
then it’s not worth it.
When this life is over and I stand before God, this election won’t matter. It will be over and done. The outcome will have long been decided. But what will matter is how I treated people in my circle of influence. Every person I meet is either moving closer or farther away from God. Am I encouraging them or discouraging? Am I a voice of love or a voice of rage?
As 
Jesus didn’t say, “Go therefore and make Republicans of all nations…” or “Go therefore and sell the people on a government funded Democrat run program…”. Not at all. Politics have nothing to do with our job. We are supposed to be passionate about telling a dying world about Him.
And lest we forget…governments rise and fall at the hand of God alone.
When Jesus was spilling out His life on the cross, He was not dying for a nation. He was dying for the entire human race. Am I more interested in how a person fills out their ballot, or where they will spend eternity?
This is not a plea for Christians to stop posting political news or opinions on their social media accounts. Please don’t misunderstand. Each person’s account is their individual voice of freedom. What this is a cry for is a plea for wisdom. If we as Christians cannot engage in political discourse without our emotions running rampant, we should yield to the Holy Spirit and exercise self-control. People are watching. Unbelievers are watching and they are trying to figure out what they think of God based on how His kids behave.
This is why I’ve said goodbye to talking politics on social media. The price is high. Souls are at stake. And when souls are at stake, my Facebook and Twitter feed should be flooded with light, all signs pointing them to a loving Savior…not an election or my personal opinions of temporary problems.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
They won’t know us by whether we vote Republican or Democrat, whether we support the hot-button issues of the day or how well we can argue our position.
They will know us by our love.
Good for you. One step closer to realizing you probably don’t need it at all. Social media primarily exists as a database for merchants, so I don’t advertise my name freely online. I use my phone to make phone calls, and dumped my data plan years ago. Relationships that continue primarily through text aren’t real in the first place. Most of a message is non-verbal, based on universal languages like facial expression, vocal tone and personal space positioning.
To put it in a familiar religious context, there’s a reason why the power of spirit passes more powerfully in person. They don’t call it “the laying on of hands” for nothing. You can’t share as well at that level by writing sentences at each other. If you have a message of deep importance, it must be offered where people gather in the same place. That’s a big part of what the last supper, the passing of eucharist is about. The “peace” in a service is a way of breaking through our wall of separation from each other, by the gentle gesture of blessing each other with a touch, embrace and a smile. That’s going to do you more good than I ever could by writing alone.
Well said Tara! I encourage you to keep on being Tara Johnson!