Cougar Pause: LCA's School Verse, The Year A.D. 57 And Social Media
Posted
Scott Wiley-
What does LCA’s school verse, the year A.D. 57 and social media have to do with each other? Everything! Each year at Lakeland Christian Academy, our school administrator, Joy Lavender, chooses a Bible verse for our faculty, students and parents to focus on for the year. The verse she chose for the upcoming 2015-16 school year is Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, which is: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV) This verse was written by the apostle Paul in spring A.D. 57, a mere 1,958 years ago, and it couldn’t be more relevant than it is today. What is the “pattern of this world” in 2015? A pattern that is consuming our world is social media. It’s rare to find a teenager, or adult for that matter, today who isn’t deeply involved in the Internet, texting, smart phones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Skype, YouTube and new venues that are created every day. This is the “pattern of the world” in 2015. In fact, according to a 2014 Android study, just on the Android network alone, users send 20 billion text messages and send 93 million “selfies” (photos they take of themselves) every day. They also released that people check their cell phones 100 billion times. That’s right – 100,000,000,000, times per day. In another study of 2,000 women between the ages of 16-25 commissioned by Newby Hands of feelingunique.com, they found that on average these women spend five hours a week preparing, taking and posting “selfies.” I would call this a definite “pattern of this world.” Now, let’s look at that pattern through the lens of Romans 12:1-2. We are urged in 12:1 to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God.” People of all ages post photos of themselves that they would never let people see in person. They also say things online, in texts and posts that are not “God honoring” and that they would never say face to face, yet these posts are out there for billions of people to see around the world and they can be out there forever. Your posts and selfies are there for your family, classmates, co-workers and even the weird guy down the block to see. They are also going to still be there for your future potential boss, college admissions office and your future mate to see. Just because “everyone is doing it” doesn’t make it right. Remember, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” Parents, let your child know that you love and care about them and that being concerned about what they are doing on social media is not an invasion of privacy, it is a sign of good parenting. Tell them that you need to monitor their involvement on the Internet and phone because you love them. To get a conversation with your child started, read Romans 12: 1-2 and then ask these questions: 1. Have you ever sent a text, photo or posting that wouldn’t be “holy and pleasing to God?” 2. Do you realize there are ways for strangers to retrieve records of almost everything you’ve ever placed on the Internet or texted? 3. Are there any texts, photos, emails or postings that you wish you could retrieve? 4. Are you friends with, or do you follow or subscribe to any accounts that have off-color messages or photos? 5. Have you made it clear to your friends that you don’t want to receive inappropriate, off-color or negative messages? To put closure to the conversation, read Philippians 4:8 together in light of social media: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Then pray with your child that you both can use the amazing world of technology and social media in a positive, God-honoring way. At Lakeland Christian Academy, students are not allowed to access their phones during school hours. We feel this helps them focus on their classes, teachers and their friends. (Yes, the actual friends that are alive, and they are with in school, not virtual “friends” online.) LCA is now open for enrollment for the 2015-16 school year. Also, several different types of scholarships are available. Please don’t assume you can’t afford a private Christian education as there are a lot of options available. Call us for more information or to attend a daily tour at 574-267-7265.
