Don't Rely on Social Media for Truth

It should go without saying, “Don’t rely on social media for truth,” right?

Social media has captivated the attention of young and old alike. It is a communication mechanism that allows you to subject yourself to those things that are of interest to you and at the same time, reject those things you do not prefer. You can saturate your mind with political postings to suit your taste, recipes, automotive advice, poetry, or cat videos. You can subscribe to postings that are of interest and later unsubscribe...when you lose interest. You can connect with other people with similar interests and you can disconnect with anyone you wish. Social media is your world as you like it. You choose your influences. And social media does influence!

The following quotation from Rev. Benjamin Cremer has made its rounds on social media: 

“If you take the Bible extremely literally about human sexuality, but not about feeding the hungry, bringing good news to the poor, liberating the oppressed, forgiving debts, bring health to the sick, or loving your neighbor, please don’t act like you take the Bible seriously.”

It is important to see the ploy used by this individual and many like him. It is a deceptive way of condemning a strict view of biblical morality.

In reality, what God said about human sexuality has no relationship...

     ...to what He said about feeding the hungry; immorality is sin.

          ...to bringing good news to the poor; immorality is sin.

               ...to liberating the oppressed

                    ...to forgiving debts,

                         ...to loving your neighbor…

                                      immorality is sin.

If I claim to love God and love my neighbor, but I am known to be the world’s greatest hypocrite, immorality is still sin. One person’s sin does not justify or condemn another person’s sin. Yet, some people reject God’s instruction in a specific area, such as, sexuality, and distract from their error by shifting attention to the error in the lives of others. To them, Jesus said:

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 

--Matthew 7:3

That was how Jesus illustrated His previous statement:

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

So, the quotation by Cremer is just another way of saying, “You can’t judge the wrong for which I am guilty, if you are also guilty of anything.” The flaw in that kind of reasoning is twofold:

• First, to recognize the moral sin in which someone is engaged is not the same as ‘judging.’ To call a thief a thief and condemn that person for theft is not judging but stating a fact. How else can we follow Jesus’ instruction In Matthew 18 and correct a brother who has sinned?
• Second, the faults and sins for which I am guilty have nothing to do with your faults and sins. We each bear the guilt of our own sin. That is a universal teaching described well in Ezekiel 18. (You should read it!)

Social media is not a good place to discover truth because you can find someone who already agrees with anything you want to believe. God has revealed truth in Scripture. Anyone who uses human reasoning to dismiss the clear teaching of Scripture really does not take the Bible seriously.

Mark Stinnett

November 2, 2025

Senseless

We call them senseless because we search for meaning but cannot find any reasonable explanation. I am referring to the senseless violence that has occurred over the past several days, two school shootings, a woman being stabbed while riding on public transportation, and most recently the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an outspoken political and religious personality.

An outcry of sorrow, but also of anxiety, follows the school shootings. Speculation about the woman’s stabbing is fruitless, yet no one is thinking that the murderer was justified. Sadly, the reaction to Kirk’s death was immediately mixed.

Major news outlets and social media exploded with both outrage and sympathy. Yet, many who voiced sympathy also made political jabs against Kirk and his ideals. Then, there were extremists who were bold enough to applauded his death.

These senseless acts of violence seem to affect us more profoundly than tragedies overseas. They affect our kids, threaten our public safety, touch our beliefs and values. They did not happen somewhere else but in our ‘backyard.’ They each affect us differently, yet all heighten our awareness that we live in a broken world and it doesn’t seem to be getting better.

As Christians, what do we do? How do we react? What do we say?

The Scriptures provide guidance.

First, Jesus dealt with the news of senseless acts of violence in His day. The Roman governor, Pilate, had apparently ordered the death of some Jews from Galilee and mixed their blood with their sacrifices. (Luke 13:1-5) It was a hot-button issue of that day and caused outrage among some. However, Jesus’ response suggests that they were not as much angry with Pilate, but wanted Jesus to address the apparent guilt of the Galileans. In other words, they thought those Galileans must have been some really bad people for God to have allowed such a thing. They wanted Jesus’ opinion.

Jesus pulled their attention away from the headline news of the day with a statement that some might consider insensitive, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way?” Jesus was telling them that their focus was in the wrong place.

Would you like Jesus to weigh in on the violence of our day, give His divine opinion on the matter?

Jesus walked this earth as deity in the flesh. He existed before His earthly ministry. He had a perspective that we may overlook. He saw Cain kill Abel. He saw the condition of the world at the time of the flood, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, the violent Assyrians attack Israel, His own people offering children as sacrifices, the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem by the Greeks. He had seen it all and the events of His day were nothing new.

Jesus did weigh in on the senseless matters of His day. He came to “seek and to save the lost” and “to give His life a ransom for many.” He did not think that He would end war and violence on the earth. Rather, He opened the door to God’s kingdom. He calls for you to change your thinking about the headline news and realign your focus to God and His kingdom!

Second, “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20) So, curb your outrage. Refrain from social media outbursts and from your own senseless opinionated banter. Instead of expressing your liberty of free speech, capture God’s attention. Use your voice in the quiet of your room...on your knees...in humble prayer.

Mark Stinnett

September 14, 2025  

What Are You Doing on Social Media?

When it comes to social media, I’ll admit that my phone’s a dinosaur and I’m a caveman. But I’m not naïve. Social media can be really good , but also really bad. Like so many things in life, social media is not the problem, but the way people use it can be.

What are some pitfalls of social media?

1. Everybody can see your post: My wife told our kids, “Assume that anything you post will be seen by your mother.” That’s great advice, because social media is simply NOT private...it’s social. The typical mindset when posting is very narrowly focused. People think of a small audience of friends who will enjoy their post. Yet, regardless of the app used, there is always a way to capture and share posts. And if it’s questionable, your mom probably WILL see it. (God will too.)
2. There is no ‘undo’: You cannot unspeak and you cannot unpost. Sure, you can ‘delete’ your post, but it is still out there. There are real companies with real computers that store all the text, pics and videos posted to the ‘cloud.’ In addition, facial recognition software is used with amazing accuracy. The primary objective of a tech company is to make money; they DO NOT really care about you or your reputation. So, assume that your posts are archived, not deleted, and that your face has been identified.
3. You cannot undo stupid: We all have moments in our lives that we wish we could erase. Social media does not forget; it documents stupid for all time (like a tattoo you regret). If you post a rant, do you want your boss to read it? A prospective employer? (Yes, they check social media.) What about your Bible study group? Those friends you forgot were your friends? What happens when you change your view!! Not only that, think of the foolish pics/videos, not the silly ones, the truly embarrassing ones; things that really were inappropriate. There is no unsee.
4. Social media reveals: Review your posts over the past year; what kinds of things did you post? [‘Selfies’ can easily become ’selfish-ies.’] I found that I enjoy family, gardening, flowers, butterflies, food and humor in the form of silliness and light sarcasm...and, of course, writing about the Bible and spiritual things. I really enjoyed my past posts. No regrets. What does social media tell about you?

Understand that social media is a means of communication and God had some things to say about our communication. We find warnings and encouragement from the Book of Proverbs:

A fool does not delight in understanding,
But only in revealing his own mind. (18:2)

He who winks the eye will be ruined.
And a babbling fool will be ruined. (10:10)

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth…. (27:2)

Can you apply this nugget of wisdom to your use of social media?

Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. 
—Ecclesiastes 10:1

And finally, listen to the Apostle Paul:

So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 
—Romans 14:19

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus….
—2 Timothy 2:19

It is not just about being careful, but about being wise.

Mark Stinnett