Facebook Fights!!!

If you are a person of faith I am sure you have witnessed a Facebook fight at sometime or another. These "fights" also happen a lot in the comments sections of Youtube videos. The fights I am speaking of are the battles of religion and beliefs. Wars of words to defend your faith. When these happen they can be spiritually deadly for all parties involved if they are handled poorly. We need to be able to answer them, but with the right attitude and in love. 1 Peter 3:15 states "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect," Gentleness and respect are key to making the gospel known, but don't let gentleness be a reason for them to push you over. Stand firm in Jesus.

Several months ago I unknowingly made a comment on a friend's Facebook status and before I knew it I had spent an entire Saturday engaged in a battle to defend my faith against a nonbeliever. The guy I was having words with is a friend of mine who I skate with and we enjoy our friendship, but religion, especially Jesus, is a hot button issue. With that being said, I want to help people approach these fights with some pointers. It is not really to win, but to get the gospel of Jesus Christ in front of the person or people you are communicating with. Remember this, you are not going to save anyone! Only Jesus can save them! So here is the deal with dealing with these battles.

First: PRAY! Pray for the person or people you are messaging. Do a committed prayer for the person, the message you are sharing, and for the Holy Spirit to be at work in you and them.

Second: Put the scripture you know to work. There is nothing stronger than scripture. You can answer in your own words, but tie it to scripture so your answer is anchored down. There will be instances where the conversation will start to go in circles, stick to scripture. Repeat the scripture if you have to. Be gentle, yet firm! Keep @ Timothy 3:16 in mind "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"

One thing to consider is, is it worth having this battle of faith through social media? Is there a way to meet this person face to face? Do you know this person? Is the person some random guy in the comments section of your favorite Youtube video for Thousand Foot Krutch or Lecrae? Does the person know Jesus? Always consider who you are messaging. Build God's kingdom! In this age of technology you are going to see these things happen. You have to be prepared. Technology has given us the chance to reach and change the lives of millions of people, this same technology can destroy just as many people. Please be careful and be prepared. Talking about being prepared read the post before this one about reading God's word daily. (It has a connection to technology too.)