In case you’re wondering there IS a Facebook page by “God”. And, NO, most Christians won’t appreciate it very much.
As
Daylan Pearce, a web guy and social commentator from Melbourne, Australia observes, “There are millions of stories of how negative of a place Facebook can be. Stories of bullying that lead to people taking their own lives and divorces due to risqué images people were tagged in. The God account is one of the thousands of humour pages on Facebook that share funny pictures and content from around the Internet. But the difference with this account is, well, it claims to be God.” There are now over 1.5 million people who LIKE it.
This issue of Faith & Fitness Magazine brings together a few voices to discuss the challenges we face with the social media we embrace. We then turn attention to how we can use all aspects of physical fitness to not only better connect with God and pursue Jesus but also mature into having stronger relationships with others.
For more than a decade this magazine ministry has been delivering content on the Internet. I’ve used the platform to entertain, inform, educate and network. One of my primary goals has been to help shape the fitness culture with a distinctly Christian influence. So the theme, “Facebook Fitness? Exercise Your Social Life!” is intended to first call all of us to examine how we’re using the Internet tool.
(NOTE: The “Selfie” video above helps illustrate the message of this article. It’s not a Christian video.)
We’re taking way too many Selfies, faking reality, and promoting positivity (as if it is a spiritual steroid). We don’t just believe that our fabrications are authentic (desperately wanting to worship a God of our own creation), we seriously doubt the value of our true reality. Much of this online social interaction in which we voluntarily and enthusiastically indulge is pulling us away from each other and from God. As you think about the social and spiritual implications, consider the physical impact all this has.
What do you treasure in life?
What you want most is showing in your social media
and reflected in the presentation of your physical body.
Jim White, spokesman of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios says, “My research shows that the average person uses Facebook for 15 hours and 33 minutes a month. This is crucial time that can be spent working out. The ACSM recommends that the average American get 30 minutes of exercise on most days. This helps prevent disease, increases energy levels and improves cardiovascular endurance and strength. Viewing Facebook does not. We need to put our priorities into perspective and swap out social media with a hard earned workout.”
Yes, it’s sad that social tools empower us to unwittingly corrupt ourselves. I find it sadder yet that Christians aren’t innovating God’s design for social life like they should. Many Christians take a “separation of church and state” attitude to their faith and fitness. For those who see the connection between the two, there’s a tendency to simply polish the surface of Faith-Based Fitness. Dr. Kenneth Cooper in his Faith & Fitness Magazine interview says, “Unless you are both spiritually and physically fit you really aren’t ‘fit’”. That is the BASE thesis that he asserts in his book, Faith-Based Fitness. But, it’s only the starting point. Faith-Centered Fitness goes further providing a paradigm for Christian ministry, social engagement through fitness and a culture of community through deeper personal relationships.
To exercise your social life you need to do a tough workout. It requires spiritual discipline (read the Bible to gain wisdom and pray to draw closer to God), honest and growing relationships with others that you patiently cultivate, the highest level of humility and a willingness for God to continually redefine and refine your profile. As Matt Evans, our original Executive Editor of Shout! OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE says in his article, The Brotherhood Of The Rope, “The Kingdom is not about a quick ‘God bless you’ and move on or a superficial ‘be in peace.’ It is about truly engaging to find out what is going on in someone’s life, finding out what makes that person tick and how we can join them in their journey.”
When your pride is shattered,
God can make a fresh start in you.
An atheist friend of mine once told me, “Our lives are nothing more than a blip in time and then we’re gone.” Social networking tools can accentuate this, making all of life seem even more fleeting and pointless. But, spiritually bonding with others helps us build upon an enduring structure that dynamically connects us with each other and God both now and miraculously into eternity. When we do that, we’ll be more than LinkedIn. We’ll BE LIFE to each other.
