The Bible is the true story behind what we believe, the primary way we learn about God’s character, and a guide on how to live. Unfortunately, it doesn’t talk directly about using social media, something many of us wish we had a guidebook for.
It does, however, tell us how we should comport ourselves, how we should treat others, and how to reflect Christ into the world. While Instagram is never mentioned in the Bible, all of these things apply to how we create, consume, and interact on social media.
Christ tells us we’re the salt and light here on earth (Matt. 5:13–16). But, as those verses also say, salt that has lost its taste is worthless, and a light is meant to be used, not hidden. Similarly, our social media profiles and interactions should shine Christ’s light into the lives of others as well as increase its strength in our own lives and preserve our saltiness.
Our social media profiles and interactions should shine Christ’s light into the lives of others.
One important way we can do this is by following Paul’s command in Philippians 4:8 to think of things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. This verse should be our guidebook not just to what we consume on social media but to what things we post and how we interact with others’ posts.
Whatever Loves Others Well
No, loving others well isn’t listed in Philippians 4:8. But the Bible is full of commands to love others (Matt. 5:43–48; Rom. 13:8–10; John 13:34). In fact, Romans 13:8 says someone who has loved others has fulfilled the law. This command is the backbone of many of the points made in Philippians 4:8, which is why I think it’s the first command we should consider in relation to social media.
If we truly love others, we’ll want to be sure what we’re sharing with them is true. We’ll only want to post and repost things that are lovely and excellent because those things are life-giving. We’ll want to cheer on justice, and we’ll want to encourage and bolster others when they’ve done something commendable.
Love will also help us have honorable interactions with those we disagree with. It won’t stop us from disagreeing, but it’ll help us do so in a loving manner because we know the person on the other side of the screen is more than just a username—she’s a human being made in God’s image.
Whatever Is True and Just
The Bible calls us to be lovers of the truth (Eph. 6:14), which is incredibly difficult in a world filled with falsehoods and half-truths. Social media is no different from the world—if anything, its lies-to-truth ratio is even more concerning.
The person on the other side of the screen is more than just a username—she’s a human being made in God’s image.
Because of how the algorithm works, many people are trying to create content that followers will be quick to share. Truth isn’t always what matters to them; it’s about catching people’s attention so they share the content. It’s easy to fall into this trap of seeing and sharing without fact checking. But as Christians, we should use wisdom.
We need to think critically about the posts crossing our feeds. Before sharing a rant assuming something you disagree with is false, do your research. Before sharing something you like because it affirms your stance on something, make sure it’s true. Spreading misinformation won’t further your view—if anything, it will alienate people who disagree with you.
Promoting truth also closely ties into the importance of promoting justice. We live in an upside-down world, where sin is championed and goodness offends. While we don’t need to share our opinions on every issue, we shouldn’t choose silence out of fear. We’re instructed to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15); this includes standing for God’s justice by calling out sin. It’s more loving to condemn sin than to silently watch it consume the world because you’re afraid of offending others.
Whatever Is Lovely and Excellent and Pure
Because we live in a broken world, many true things aren’t lovely or excellent. We shouldn’t shy away from acknowledging darkness, but we should be cautious about how much we allow into our feeds. We all have different levels of darkness we can handle before we need to resurface for air, and we should be sensitive to others’ limits (1 Cor. 8).
Maybe you’re passionate about raising awareness of hard topics like eating disorders, human trafficking, or suicide. Those topics, while important to discuss, are distressing to certain people, and we can respect that by offering warnings and posting thoughtfully. If an account is continually upsetting to someone, she should unfollow it, but we can take steps to protect those who come across our posts.
Whatever Is Commendable and Worthy of Praise
Finally, we should be a light on a personal level. This includes building others up when they’ve done something truly good. Is your friend taking a stand against evil, despite the negative feedback he’ll receive? Stand by him. Is your friend sharing something difficult from her life to bring glory to God? Encourage her. Is your friend running an account dedicated to sharing his faith? Support him through likes, comments, and shares. If we want to see more good on social media, we need to encourage it.
Sometimes it feels like the Bible doesn’t cover all the modern issues we face. After all, a quick word search in my Bible app for “social media” or “Instagram” yields zero results. But the Bible is timeless and applies to every aspect of our lives—including social media. Remembering that allows us to understand just how relevant the Bible is to running our Instagram accounts.
The Gospel Coalition