Bishop Kirk Smith of Arizona ponders the eagerness with which we tend to share the extravagance of our lives via social media. Describing what he calls “Facebook bragging,” he notes that Christians, especially those who are ordained, are not doing the church or themselves any favors by posting photos of luxury travel, expensive meals, and parties among a “huge number of happy, wine-drinking friends” for all their Facebook followers to see and envy.
“We are a Christian denomination which has always advocated for the poor and for a just economy, but do we practice what we preach?” he writes. “Or are we more driven to impress our friends with what we have than to advocate for those who have not?”
Facebook is most certainly a platform where it is easy to be boastful, about our beautiful children, homes, experiences, and material possessions. Are we aiming to foster envy– falling prey to what Smith describes as “our own Episcopal brand of the ‘prosperity Gospel’? If so, how can we make better use of social media for higher purposes?
Read Smith’s entire post here.