I remember when I had my first Twitter shock a few years ago: I discovered that people post pornography on Twitter. Lots of people. Lots of pictures.
But that is not the shocking part. The internet is full of pornography, nothing new there.
The shocking part is that Twitter allows it. And you can get a Twitter account at any age, which in my mind equated to, “Twitter Supports Exposing Minors to Pornography.”
After my initial outraged-sobbing-yelling-hair-peeled-back explosion, I did a little internet research on Twitter and pornography. Apparently they’ve been in the news here and there for several years now on this topic. Their position is to monitor what appears directly on their site, but to not monitor links to external sites. They leave it up to the individual user to determine who to follow and who to block.
Still a bit upset about all of this, I went for my daily walk with the Lord. I walked, listened to worship music, and pondered.
“OK, well, then, I just won’t use Twitter. I’ll show them! I can’t believe so many other Christians are out there, are they all oblivious to this awful danger? What am I missing here? I just can’t believe this! I’m going to take action, write to someone, see …”
“Overcome evil with good.”
The Lord interrupted my ranting with His still small voice. The complete verse is, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21 NIV)
Yes, I allowed the evil I found in Twitter to overcome my thoughts, my emotions, and my time. I was ready to attack – not just the evil, but all those who I felt should be DOING something.
Then I realized it: they ARE doing something. They are posting about the Lord, His goodness, His truth. They are sharing each other’s posts of encouragement, love, and kindness.
They are overcoming evil with good.
This is why it’s so important for all who are called to write to share on Twitter or on other social media venues. Each time we post something that glorifies God, we give Him ammunition – truth – to reach all the people who are searching, seeking, restless, and lonely. The more we share God’s truth, love, and grace online, the more opportunity everyone will have to meet Him and know Him.
Including those who use Twitter for evil. May they be overcome by Jesus Tweets!
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4 Comments
Right there with you! As soon as it appeared, I scrambled to block and report and fortify my defenses. And then, I thought of my children. And my husband. And I prayed in earnest for their protection. And then, I prayed in earnest for my mind. My first husband was addicted to many things- porn included. Seeing that picture, knowing there were thousands like that out there, and knowing my sweet locust-years-restoration-husband might be assailed with such pictures, made my mind, my heart, my emotions go back to that damaging place. (Yes, run on sentence!). Thank you so much for the reminder of The Great Overcomer!
I am praying too, for my nephews, nieces, and all young people that are on Twitter…and yes, all of us too! I also know people who have overcome and yet need to fight temptation every day…and not just online. Yes, when we focus on God and not on the evil, we can overcome through Him. Thank you for sharing, Kristy – glad you were encouraged!
That just happened to me for the first time a few days ago. Someone who looked legit shared something I posted on twitter and included a link. I stopped to think about it, wondering if it was spam, but the site seemed legit and I was curious to see what they had shared about my post. And then it hit me a barrage of horrible images I couldn’t delete and block fast enough. It makes my heart sad, but I’m with you, overcome evil with good. It’s hard, and even though I’m still a little traumatized I keep pressing on and keep sharing good!
Wow! I’ve also been surprised like that. I still remember the first time I saw a pornographic image – I clicked on something someone tweeted to learn more about them…and BOY did I! Yes, we pray for God to erase our hard-drive memory, pray for the person, and move on. It is truly sad.
Thank you for sharing, Josie!