The digital world has become a battleground of opinions, where friendships are cut down with the swipe of a finger.
We’ve all experienced it. We plop down on the couch for a quick scroll through our social media feed, looking for connection and amusement. Amid the pleasant posts that make us smile, we come across something unsettling—distressing and shocking statements that expose a friend’s starkly different political beliefs and values. Perhaps it’s a former classmate, now a respectable pastor, sharing his political opinions in shocking bluntness. Or maybe it’s a coworker posting a seemingly endless stream of memes and rants about controversial political issues.
At first, we may feel shock. But as the posts keep coming, they begin triggering frustration and even anger. Why would they think that? And why share it so openly? Should I respond? Should I correct misinformation or challenge misguided priorities?
Then, the next post comes—far too soon. Our finger hovers over the three little dots next to their name that offer a simple solution: mute, unfollow, block. With one tap, we can make the frustration disappear. On the surface, this feels like a natural response, maybe even a necessary one for our own peace of mind.
Research groups have studied this phenomenon. One group summarized research done from 2016 to 2021, saying, “Avoidance of political disagreement emerged as a primary reason for unfriending individuals on social media platforms.”
But for followers of Christ, is it the best way forward?
Is curating our friends list the answer?
Before we silence the noise, we should first consider our purpose for using social media. If it’s purely for entertainment, filtering out anything (or anyone) unpleasant makes sense. But if our goal is connection to other people and we want to live in a way that reflects Christ’s love, then it’s worth pausing before shutting out people who present us with offensive opinions. These people, even if distant from us now, are still connected to us. Jesus calls them our neighbors.
Scripture reminds us that our real conflicts aren’t with people but with “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12b). The real battles are against despair, rage, and our own tendencies toward self-righteousness. These struggles can’t be solved by pressing “mute.” We need something stronger—God’s truth and righteousness, the gospel, and faith. We’re told to use this spiritual armor while “praying at all times” (Eph. 6:18a).
A different approach: turning to prayer
Deciding how to engage in political conversations takes wisdom, and it all begins with prayer. Even if we choose never to engage in debate online, we can find powerful solace and encouragement in prayer. When we maintain connections with those who hold vastly different views, the subsequent interactions with frustrating posts can become invitations to prayer—not just for them, but also for ourselves.
Praying in these moments has powerful benefits:
- It shifts our focus to God. When we encounter posts that anger or disturb us, prayer helps us to rely on God. These are humbling moments when we cry out to God over the political and moral turmoil that our society is facing. We realize our hope is in Christ alone. When we allow our social media feed to reflect disturbing reality, we have plenty of reminders to go to God, our refuge in times of trouble.
- It cultivates personal growth. If someone we once respected is now sharing ideas that we find troubling, we can pray and ask God to reveal areas where we might also need correction. If our distant family member is fearful over political events, even if we disagree, we can pray for God’s mercy for them and for our own hearts to grow in compassion.
- It is the first and best remedy to our own anger. Blocking someone may remove an immediate trigger, but it doesn’t address the root of our anger. By bringing our frustrations to God, we rely on Him to parse through our emotions and guide us toward wisdom, grace, and patience. If our anger is justified, He can direct us toward a constructive response. If our anger is driven by fear, He can bring us hope for rescue and reassurance.
The constant political strife and the deeply concerning events happening in our world give us daily practice in the lessons Christ taught about prayer in Luke 18. When we are distressed, we ought to pray and not give up, like the widow calling on the unjust judge. And we must eradicate our own tendencies toward self-righteousness, rejecting the self-assured attitude of the Pharisee and claiming the prayer of the tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
In a letter to a family member, Thomas Jefferson gave the now famous advice, “When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.” The Bible offers even deeper wisdom: pray. The Psalms are filled with honest prayers—cries of distress, lament, and even anger. God invites us to bring our raw emotions to Him because He cares deeply for us.
When stepping away completely is the right choice
Sometimes, a break from social media is necessary. Taking time refocus on our relationship with Christ can be refreshing and transformative. Maybe we do need to disconnect in order to reconnect with our heavenly Father. If we feel anxious and frustrated by the social media landscape, this may be the Spirit prompting us to step away for a time. We can follow this leading and benefit from less distraction and mindless scrolling.
But when we do return, let’s approach social media as a space for meaningful connection, not just with those who agree with us, but with all our neighbors. Instead of retreating into echo chambers or silence, we can choose to engage with others in wisdom, patience, and prayer. Rather than throwing up our hands in frustration, we can, instead, raise them in prayer.
Suggested Reading
“Powlison reminds us that God gets angry too. He sees things in this world that aren’t right and he wants justice too. But God’s anger doesn’t devolve into manipulation or trying to control others to get his own way. Instead his anger is good and redemptive. It causes him to step into our world to make wrongs right, sending his own Son to die so that we can be reconciled. He is both our model for change and our power to change.” (Amazon description)
“In Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, Tim and Paul discuss the relational disappointments that we all suffer both in and out of the church. But they are also optimistic about the power of Christian beliefs to redeem and restore our relationships. Rather than presenting new or sophisticated techniques to make relationships flourish, the authors instead focus on the basic, Christian character qualities that can only be formed in the heart by the gospel.” (Amazon description)
“What images should I feed my eyes? We often leave this question unanswered― because we don’t ask it. Journalist Tony Reinke asked these hard questions himself―critiquing his own habits―and now invites us along to see what he discovered as he investigated the possibilities and the pitfalls of our image-centered world. In the end, he shares the beauty of a Greater Spectacle―capable of centering our souls, filling our hearts, and stabilizing our gaze in this age of the digital spectacle.” (Amazon description)
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