When We See Too Much of People
Last post I shared why I’m fasting from social media. As I pondered how different life feels right now, a verse popped into my head.
Proverbs 25:17
KJV Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
NLT Don’t visit your neighbors too often, or you will wear out your welcome.
As I neared my time of breaking away from social media, I felt wearied. Wearied of people and certain they were wearied of me. Goodness, I was wearied of me!
Social media allows us to enter our neighbor’s house 24 hours a day. We enter the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. We enter their cars. We are with them always. A door is open all the time and we enter with or without invitation.
I began to form thoughts about people that I knew were ungodly. Sin began to breed within me. Judgements formed because I saw snapshots of someone without seeing the context of the glimpse offered.
My thoughts startled me. I’d scroll and come across a post that I felt was boastful or showy in an inappropriate way and instantly form a negative thought about that person. I’d read the follow up gushing statements of affirmation and flattery and find myself agitated that people couldn’t see through the posts. I didn’t like what was coming out of my heart.
I was seeing too much of some people. I needed better guards up so I could love them the way I’m called to love them. I was allowing my online neighbors to enter my house too often.
A diet of social media lessened my love for people, increased my cynicism, and gave birth to thoughts and feelings that felt unfamiliar.
I’ve shared all of this before on past posts through my Unseen series.
I think sometimes we forget that what we post on social media is us entering the house of our neighbor. And this is dangerous to forget, especially for women. What we post will be in the private places of the husband of another. If we wouldn’t physically enter the house of a neighbor in a particular way, we should exercise extreme caution over what we share that will essentially take us into the house of a friend.
This break is good for my heart. It’s a time to examine what I’ve allowed to enter and what I’ve allowed to form and grow. It’s a time to re-examine, evaluate. End of years are good for that. The assessment of what worked and what didn’t work. A time to hit a reset button and start fresh in the New Year. A time to ponder and reflect, plan and prepare.
