Justine Sacco's tweet "ruined her life." The tweet itself sounds terrible. As she was flying from New York to South Africa, she tweeted as she was about to board the plane, "Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” At first, glance, that sounds like a terribly racist comment that is deserving of scorn and ridicule. And that is exactly what she received, as her tweet was picked up by a blogger and went viral. By the time she landed, she was lambasted by social media and her life would never be the same.
Again, looking at that tweet, one could say she deserved what she received. However, she contends that she meant the tweet sarcastically, as a commentary on white privilege. Only she knows what she really meant, but one thing is clear, she was unwise, to put it mildly. The fact is, far too many people turn to social media to gain attention and value. I know for me, I have wrestled with this throughout the years I have blogged or Facebooked.
I first began blogging in 2002, when Christian blogs weren't really that popular. There was no Gospel Coalition. Tim Challies was just getting started. People from all around the world were checking my blog. I was getting comments from "famous" people in today's Evangelical world. My readership was increasing regularly. I began to have dreams of writing books and becoming known. And that's when I began to realize, I was on the verge of losing my soul. I wanted notoriety and fame desperately and it was robbing me of joy in Jesus. Ministry was no longer about the gospel, it was the means to my end of fame. So it was time to shut down the blog. The Holy Spirit made me realize that fame was my idol because pride had always been at the core of my heart, my foundational sin. Blogging was an outlet to enlarge that idol. So I stopped blogging. I took a long hiatus.
Yet, here I am blogging again. I know I can go down that dark road again and so I am ready to pull that plug if need be. But I do think Desiring God blog is right, there is a place for pastors to blog and write to serve their churches. I just want to make sure I do so with the right heart and perspective.
I read that article on Justine Sacco and I think, "Boy, what a glamor hog!" There are so many out there in the social media landscape. But I am right there with them and unless I am regularly reminding myself of what Jesus did, that the God who created all things became nothing so that I and so many others might become sons and daughters of God, I will quickly slide into self-absorption and self-conceit. That's a dark and lonely road that I dare not travel, as Justine Sacco has come to realize.
Again, looking at that tweet, one could say she deserved what she received. However, she contends that she meant the tweet sarcastically, as a commentary on white privilege. Only she knows what she really meant, but one thing is clear, she was unwise, to put it mildly. The fact is, far too many people turn to social media to gain attention and value. I know for me, I have wrestled with this throughout the years I have blogged or Facebooked.
I first began blogging in 2002, when Christian blogs weren't really that popular. There was no Gospel Coalition. Tim Challies was just getting started. People from all around the world were checking my blog. I was getting comments from "famous" people in today's Evangelical world. My readership was increasing regularly. I began to have dreams of writing books and becoming known. And that's when I began to realize, I was on the verge of losing my soul. I wanted notoriety and fame desperately and it was robbing me of joy in Jesus. Ministry was no longer about the gospel, it was the means to my end of fame. So it was time to shut down the blog. The Holy Spirit made me realize that fame was my idol because pride had always been at the core of my heart, my foundational sin. Blogging was an outlet to enlarge that idol. So I stopped blogging. I took a long hiatus.
Yet, here I am blogging again. I know I can go down that dark road again and so I am ready to pull that plug if need be. But I do think Desiring God blog is right, there is a place for pastors to blog and write to serve their churches. I just want to make sure I do so with the right heart and perspective.
I read that article on Justine Sacco and I think, "Boy, what a glamor hog!" There are so many out there in the social media landscape. But I am right there with them and unless I am regularly reminding myself of what Jesus did, that the God who created all things became nothing so that I and so many others might become sons and daughters of God, I will quickly slide into self-absorption and self-conceit. That's a dark and lonely road that I dare not travel, as Justine Sacco has come to realize.