For this afternoon’s Bible classes, Green team captains Kevin & Sara Rhoton taught the boys and girls respectively about remaining pure and modest in a social media world. Although most social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is restricted to those 13-years-old or older, many camper-aged children have access to social media, in addition to YouTube, online games which have banners on their websites, and video games which sometime have very harsh language. A lot of social media includes: bad language, immodesty, gossip, breaking rules, bullying, and evil pranks which cause permanent damage.
We can’t close ourselves off from the world. We must live “in” the world, but not “of” the world. John 17:16-18 tells us: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” Mark 16:15 commands us to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
How can we avoid the evils of the world?
1. Don’t go looking for evil. We must be careful what we watch and listen to. We must guard our minds and our hearts by avoiding movies with immodesty, listening to music with bad language, following people on social meda who post impure, ungodly content, and be careful what we search for online. Philippians 4:8,9 – “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” We must be careful who our friends are and who we follow online and in person because I Corinthians 15:33 tells us, “Do not be deceived: bad company ruins good morals.” What and who we surround ourselves and associate with affects us.
2. How do we react and deal with (hopefully accidentally) being in contact with immoral and impure things in social media? Unfriend the ungodly, get offline when we see and hear things we shouldn’t, delete games with inappropriate ads, and instead of hanging around with ungodly people, connect with friends from church and camp friends. When you are having trouble with impurities, have someone hold you accountable. Having accountability is crucial for us to live a righteous life, so parents, friends, relatives, and church members are all people we can go to to help hold us accountable. Philippians 2:13-15 – “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Romans 12:1,2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
I John 2:14-17 – “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
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It is never too early to start teaching our kids how to live Godly lives. Thanks Sarah and Kevin for addressing these topics.
Great topic for our young people. It’s sad to see how many Christians present a poor example to the world on social media. We need people to be lights of the world there, too. Early training is an important step to prepare them to live in an internet world and show Christ living in them.