4 Ways Satan Tries to Devour Us through Facebook

Social media has no doubt changed the way we think and live, but how beneficial is that for those in Christ?

I believe that social media can be an effective platform for the spread of the gospel. There are plenty of Christ-centered resources in the online community that I use on a daily basis to help me grow spiritually. But if we’re honest, we probably spend a small portion of our time advancing our spiritual growth, while the rest is spent on aimless scrolling. We spend hours a day consuming endless information, pictures, and videos without any safeguard for our minds. For Christians, I’ve found that this is dangerous territory. This potentially turns the mind into an open plain, with satan prowling through the grass like a lion, waiting to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Here are four ways the enemy tries to devour you through social media:

Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/diego_cervo

1. Satan wants your marriage.

It starts with a like here, and a like there. She’s only a friend. You justify the innocent interaction of the like button because it doesn’t cross any solid lines. You gradually push the boundary line further and further back. Maybe the likes and comments lead to private conversations. Remember, sin is never satisfied with the amount of you it has.

Sooner or later you are hiding conversations from your spouse. Before you know it, you’re involved in a mental, perhaps even a physical affair.

Many studies show that Facebook is the most common place that an affair starts. I’ve seen it happen to close godly friends that thought they would never get to that point. Unless you have safeguards in place, it can happen to you.

I used to roll my eyes when I saw couples with joint Facebook accounts, or shared passwords. But now I get why most of them do it. Those couples realize the dangers. Those couples are fighting for what they have.

Give your spouse access to your social media. Believe me, having that accountability is absolutely necessary. You are far less tempted to hide anything. And if you have anything to hide from your spouse, it is more than likely sinful.

“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15)

Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/AntonioGuillem

2. Satan wants your pure thoughts.

If you are fighting the sin of lust, I suggest taking a break from social media, perhaps even indefinitely. Your relationship with God is infinitely more valuable than Facebook.

Aimlessly scrolling through the mind-numbing newsfeed is one of the most dangerous things a Christian can do. In my experience, that’s where pure thoughts go to die. We live in a pornographic culture and it is almost impossible to avoid while scrolling. Couple that with the ease of giving into lustful thoughts and it’s a disaster for holy living.

The temptation to scroll back up for one more look is even more dangerous because its privately done. Satan will whisper that it’s okay to look because there’s no harm. Who’s going to know? It can be your little pet sin. But just like I mentioned in the previous section, it won’t stop there.

Unfollow, unfriend, or delete your account if you have to. Remember the areas that caused you to stumble before and run the other way. But don’t merely run from them, run to the open arms of Christ Jesus. Run to the promises of His Word.

Matthew 5:8 tells us that the pure in heart will see God! Keep your heart pure and fixed on the Father. Get rid of anything that might hinder that. It’s absolutely worth it, and absolutely deadly if you don’t.

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7)

Photo courtesy: ©Unsplash.com/PhotobyFranciscoMoreno

3. Satan wants your time.

Social media is a very handy tool that Satan uses to rip your attention and affection from God. John Piper quips, “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.”

Ouch.

If you compare your daily amount of time spent on Facebook to prayer, how does it measure up? If the former is greater, I wouldn’t simply shrug that off. Psalm 1 tells us the blessed man meditates day and night on the Word of God. How can we know what to pray unless we meditate on His Word? How can we read the Word, much less meditate on it day and night if we’re constantly scrolling through social media? We’re simply choosing the pleasures of this world rather than spending time with the God of the universe. It’s that simple.

Because we’re not pursuing God like we should, we get bored and are attempting to fill the void with constant entertainment. I’m guilty of pulling up Facebook at the slightest bit of boredom. It's almost second nature to us now. But what if God is wanting to meet you in your boredom to reveal His purpose to you?

Get away from the constant newsfeed noise that the enemy wants to use to fog your mind.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

Photo courtesy: Unsplash.com

4. Satan wants your worship.

I don’t mean devil-worshiping as in pentagrams, black robes, or any of that garbage. What I’m talking about is much more subtle and inward-focused. Social media can train us to worship the idol of self. We essentially create mini shrines of ourselves, striving for praise via the almighty like.

Satan wants you focused on yourself. If you’re inward-focused, you won’t be focused on Jesus. Satan wants your source of self worth to only be found in the empty praise and attention of others, not the atoning blood of Christ.

You can’t be self-absorbed and have compassion for others. If the enemy can keep us distracted by keeping our faces buried in a screen, then we won’t be able to see the hurting world around us. We certainly won’t be missions-minded if we’re consumed with our own lives.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul tells us to glorify God in whatever we do. This includes social media. We can either wield Facebook for God’s glory, or Satan’s.

Topher Lee Haddox is a caffeine-addicted husband, daddy, and drummer. Born and raised in Louisiana, Topher enjoys the great outdoors and his new-found fascination with hiking. He can usually be found swinging in his hammock, coffee in hand, or pecking away at his next article. He has a deeply ingrained passion for worship and feeding others the Word of God. His work appears regularly on Crosswalk. Visit his blog at https://topherhaddox.wordpress.com/.