Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Overthrowing Twitter

Twitter seems to be the new trend in online social networking. I keep hearing about it left and right, and almost every artist, celebrity, organization, ministry, church, restaurant, company, co-worker, neighbor, neighbor's pet, and homeless person has an account and tweets daily.

Now the purpose of Twitter as I have come to understand it is this: to update your "followers" throughout the day on events in your life, emotions felt, flat tires achieved, meals eaten, links visited, videos watched, aches felt, sicknesses experienced, dishes washed, clothing laundered, songs listened to, political opinions had, thoughts thought, pains felt, breathes taken, and bowel-movements achieved. As far as I can tell, Twitter is for the most part a detailed, self-perpetuated news-ticker on every mundane detail of our lives.

At least that is how most people use it.

Now, I'm not going to condemn people who use it like that... but I have to ask, is that really what God wants us to do with it?

For years my close friends and I have been wrestling with the question, "If every single detail of my life were dedicated to glorifying God, what would my life look like?" So I asked myself: "If I were to make a Twitter account in order to glorify God, what would that look like?" In fact, we are told in Ephesians 5:15-17 to make the best use of our time in order to please Him... so how can I use Twitter in a way that is not a complete waste of time?

Now I don't claim to have figured it out, but here's my theory:

I think Twitter would be an excellent tool for believers to encourage each other to stay their mind on Christ throughout the day, because:
1.) We all struggle with keeping our mind on God throughout the day, and
2.) Most of us check our Facebook/MySpace/Twitter at least daily, so the stage is set.

So what if we only posted thoughts, Scripture, quotes, prayers, prayer requests, revelations, and things God is doing with us? I know I would be encouraged throughout the day knowing that my brothers and sisters are thinking about God. This is a way the Body of Christ could be building each other up and feeding each other spiritually, even if we only see each other once or twice a week... or year... or decade!

Anyone interested in joining me in my little quest?

@shadowglo


ps... If you so feel compelled to join me, you can set up an account at twitter.com, and it's pretty easy.

pss... If you were tagged in this note, it wasn't random, I just thought you might find this of interest!

pppssssssss.... I know "overthrowing" is perhaps a poor choice of wording to describe what I'm actually trying to do, but overthrowing just sounds so much more revolutionary than "using in a manner that's different than the average user".