I‘ve always enjoyed social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. These are great tools for us to stay connected with one another and with the world. Being a Christian, with many Christian friends, it’s hard not to notice how many verses, quotes, references, and blogs are posted throughout the course of the day. It’s great to post encouraging verses and quotes related to Christ all over the Internet, right?

The Apostle Paul, in the book of Philippians, said, “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” So according to Paul it would be a good thing to post tweets, status updates, and blogs all over the Internet that pertain to Christ. In the end, as long as Christ is preached, what does it matter?

Well, I have been convicted that our motives behind posting Biblical or Christian references can be entirely off base. The danger is that social networking can be used more as a tool for self-promotion and self-gratification rather then one served to promote Christ. What’s more, we often speak it, tweet it, post it, or update it rather than live it.  If this is true, then what we are saying is our joy is found more in what others think of us (people re-tweeting or “liking” our status updates) rather than our joy being found in God giving us the ability to influence our surrounding culture for Him.

I have been wrestling with my motives behind posting a Scripture verse or a Christian blog, questioning if it comes from my desire to promote Christ with my life or from receiving affirmation from someone through a re-post of something I wrote. It’s very easy to refrain from testing our motives before we post something about God.

Are we really promoting Christ when our motives, deep within our hearts, are all about receiving glorification for ourselves? Are we truly promoting the Kingdom of God when we are more concerned with how many people “liked” our status rather than how Christ could use what we post to change someone’s life? The fact of the matter is that our motives, when we post something on Facebook or Twitter, are of considerable importance to God.

When I stumbled upon Proverbs 21:2, I was reassured of Christ’s perspective, looking so much deeper than a Christian post on a social network. The Proverb says, “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” As you can see, God is looking at our motive, rather than congratulating you for the 10 re-tweets you received for posting that clever quote from Andy Stanley. Your hearts condition matters so much more to God.  I’m not saying that tweets, status updates, and blogs pertaining to God are wrong; I am simply saying we should seriously take a look at our heart’s desire when posting something we are convinced is for God.

John Piper said it best at Passion 2011, saying, “Do you feel more loved by God because He makes much of you or because He enables you to make much of Him?” He couldn’t be more correct. Our heart’s desire must be centered solely on the joy that we have been enabled to make much of Him.

The most widely read devotional work, next to the Bible, is the book The Imitation of Christ. Interestingly, when it was published, it was done so without noting the author’s name. Although it was later credited to a man named Thomas a’ Kempis, it almost seems ludicrous for someone to compose a writing or book without taking credit for his or her work. However, you discover in reading The Imitation of Christ that the writer suggests we should “love to be unknown” and that we should be more concerned with the love and depth written in the text instead of the author of the work. If Thomas a’ Kempis really did write this book then I think we can safely say that Kempis truly understood what making much of God and making less of oneself truly looks like.

I pray we become a people that praise God rather than ourselves. One way of doing this is to let others tell our story. Have you ever wondered why Jesus never wrote a book of the Bible? Well, my guess is that He wanted to let others tell His story. Anyone can write something about themselves, but it truly takes a special person or situation to have someone else write about them. Isn’t our God special? Let us live remarkable lives for Him, by boasting of the works He is doing in others, rather than in ourselves.

John 3:30 – “He must become greater, I must become less.”