Uplift Others by Embracing Your Journey in Sharing Your Faith

Uplift Others: Part Three of Four Continued

Keep the content you post online focused on encouraging and inspiring others. You should always be authentic but at the same time, carefully consider the impact of what you’re posting.

You may want to minister to the hurting but then you’re posting snarky memes about your kids or passive-aggressive comments about your husband’s lack of help around the house. This behavior while it might be amusing to some, ultimately discredits the message of love and grace you’re trying to send.

This is not about putting on a “mask” or acting like your life is perfect. There’s a way to be real and authentic while still honoring the message of hope that Christ has called all of us to share.

A good idea is to review Philippians 4:8 before posting any content online. If you’re not familiar with it, this verse reads…

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

Pause before you post and ask yourself these questions…

• Is this true?
• Is this noble?
• Is this right?
• Is this pure?
• Is this lovely?
• Is this admirable?
• Is this excellent and praiseworthy?

If the answer to these questions are “yes” without hesitation, then post away. But if most of the answers are “no”, then you may need to prayerfully consider if you should publish it for the world to see.

It you be very easy to find yourself commenting on politics or others behaviors or beliefs, but once again God wants us to be Christ-like and show love when addressing others.  There are loving ways to say what you need to and there are pushy ways to say things.  Just take a moment and reflect before posting.

Embrace Your Journey

One of the best ways to minister to others online is simply to share where you are on your own journey. This is often far more effective than telling others how to live their lives or shaming them for the choices they’re making.

Keep in mind you don’t have to wait until you’re perfect to share your journey. Ben humbly posted about a moment when he lost his temper and yelled at one of his sons. His son recognized his father was in pain and poured grace over him rather than retaliate.

Ben talked about how the incident challenged him as a father and a man. Several people commented on the post and encouraged Ben. One father even reached out to ask Ben about how his faith impacted his relationships with his sons and what he could do to model humility to his kids.

Ultimately, you have to trust that when you share your journey, God is using it. God can use any and every moment of your life to show the world how much He loves broken people in the middle of their messes.

Be the Same Person

Remember that it’s important that you’re the same person online that you are offline. If you’re normally funny and easy going offline, don’t change into someone stuffy and humorless when you login to your social media accounts or on your website.

Be that same transparent person  all the time and understand that God gave you the personality you have for a reason. There are people that will feel pulled toward you because of the unique way God made you.

Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

You are meant to shine. The best way to shine is by being who you are. This doesn’t mean you’re free from flaws or sin. Of course, you’re in the process of being sanctified and that means there’s something powerful about saying, “I’m still a work-in-progress.”

It gives those around you the freedom to acknowledge the same thing. Suddenly, they don’t feel the need to be perfect either because you’ve boldly made the first move and taken off the mask.

This is part three of a four part series.  If you missed the first two posts and journal to go along with this study, you can read them here:

Part one:  Share Your Faith Authentically

Part two:  One Sheep Counts: Sharing Your Faith Without Pushing 

Many blessings,

Tammy Becker 

Founder and Chief Disciple at You Ministries