This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
~ Psalm 118:24
Taking a break from the constant TV programs, Twitter tweets and Facebook status updates to listen to God and make the most of each day.
I’ve heard the verse above many times before. No doubt many of you have, too. But as one of the key verses in the sermon we heard this morning, I heard it again in a different light. The companion verse — and the initial focus of the sermon — was James 4:14, which states “you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
Life is short and continues to zoom by. And we aren’t getting any younger, are we? With all the media frenzy, social media, TV and the Internet, not to mention work and other commitments, sometimes we forget to stop and treasure that which is most important. Time passes by and we are so busy playing catch up and trying to cross one more thing off the to-do list, we may not stand still long enough to listen to God. Don’t spend the day waiting to live when we could just be living.
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. ~ John Lennon
Now as a marketing and brand consultant and fan of social media myself, I value the importance and place for Facebook and Twitter. They are an effective way for any business to get noticed and should be an important part of any marketing plan. As founder and creative director of TWELVE TWO, I help small businesses get started in social media and suggest ways in which they can use these tools better. Of course, they can be a great way just to keep in touch with old friends, too. But there is a time and place for everything. How many times have you signed in to Facebook just to check in or post a quick status update only to rub your eyes and look away from the computer an hour later?
Sometimes, a well-deserved vacation or even a small break — executed correctly — is in order. That’s why we are taking a week to fast. We won’t go without too much food, but we are taking a break from Facebook, Twitter and the TV. Starting on Monday, we will use the time previously spent on social media or staring at the television to pray, listen to God and spend more quality time with our family. We may update this blog and can still be reached by email, but you won’t hear from us on Facebook or Twitter and we promise to keep our television turned off.
As always, we look forward to your comments here and look forward sharing our findings next Sunday. Have a great week!
12 Comments on "The Social Media Fast"
Good for you! You know? You should read one of the books I’m reading now: The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies. It speaks to just this thing.
Thanks for the comment, Andrea. We’ll have to put that book on our wishlist!
Well done! We take regular ‘media fasts’ in our home giving us a break from the constant barrage of information and exaggeration. Thank for sharing.
Enjoy the break. We spent the first 10 years of our marriage (we just celebrated our 16th anniversary) without TV or internet. We just got cable for the first time last year and the technician thought I was joking when he asked what my favorite shows were and I told him we had never had cable to know.
I keep this quote up on my dashboard to help me prioritize my time on social networks:
“One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.”
John Piper
Great quote to remember. Thanks for sharing!
Amen!
It’s all about time management really. If one indulges too much in any activity it takes away from the greater quality of life, or in this case time from your maker.
If people would take stock of the value of such modern conveniences as cable, satellite and social media instead of demonizing it, one could understand better such advantageous modes of information. Christians blog, transmit and communicate via peer to peer more than ever these days.
These are times that should be valuing the information that is now being collected and dispersed. It’s the truly valuable way we can know how to brace against the bad and embrace the coming good.
The Bible does not teach moderation, but as we live in a world in which that word is relatively dismissed, we all must understand that dogmatic attitudes should not still the tide of progress.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Mark. Engaging conversation is great fuel for the blog.
I was only speaking an opinion on the matter, based on my personal experiences. You are right about time management. I know there have been times when I was sucked into Facebook playing Farm Town of all things (gasp!) instead of doing something productive. Everything in moderation, right?
I would offer that the Bible does teach moderation, if not directly. Wine was a common drink of the time, but we are warned not to get drunk on the stuff. And gluttony? Money is another great example. We all need the stuff to pay the bills but isn’t there too much of a good thing? At some point, greed for more surely goes against a moderation mantra.
But you are on point. ANYTHING can be used for good and/or evil. Surely I did not mean to demonize social media. You know we are peers in an industry that loves the stuff!
Thanks, Mark!
Although I am completely unaware of Christians demonizing social media, you are so very right about the importance of it. Social media is an extremely vital part of our culture and, needless to say, our household
Just as people often fast by food, we chose the one thing that would really impact our lives. I think with so many people, technology is a great way to fast. And what a better way to get the word out there about fasting than to tweet about it afterwards 
While moderation is only used once in the scriptures, the Word is very clear about balance and staying God-focused. I’m the type of person who needs to ‘flee into the wilderness’ every now and then to get my bearings, much like Elijah. Sometimes it is very easy to confuse personal goals with God’s will, and this was an excellent way for me to clarify that and refocus. It took a lot of effort not to check my phone and twitter/facebook accounts. But every time I reached for it, I immediately went back to the reason I was on the fast in the first place. The simple fact that we view it to be as vital as food says volumes about our society and that we desire to communicate and find new ways of doing so. I can say, however, that I wouldn’t have traded this experience for the world and that I plan on doing it again…hopefully next time from somewhere like Nepal (twitpic-ing the journey, of course).
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