“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1).
(TMI)—Too Much Information. We live in a world that likes to overshare. From Hollywood actors and sport celebrities using Twitter as a platform to polish their image to Millennials who Snapchat their selfies in order to see who’s following them on social media. This present age is starving to get itself noticed.
Such behavior is nothing new to the history of human communication. Jesus cautioned his colleagues against seeking the limelight a bit too much. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1). Jesus goes on to warn his followers to practice the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, and fasting in such a way that pleases the Audience of One rather than the public-at-large.
So, why do we continue to overshare? The answer is love. We want to get our brand noticed so that others might love us. Is it any wonder that the most often used keystroke on Facebook is the like icon? We crave attention because what we really want to know is whether or not we are loved.
However, Jesus’ warning against oversharing is well worth hearing. The truth is that the love we seek through the attention of others is at best short-lived. At its worst, our public-wide search for love can be rebuffed.
St. Augustine once uttered these timeless words: “Our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in Thee, [O Lord].” In the words of an old, Country song, “we are looking for love in all the wrong places.” Augustine claimed that until we seek the One who alone can satisfy our craving for love, our search in every other person or place is hapless.
So, rather than sharing Too Much Information about yourself on social media this week, why not reverse the trend? Try (IMT)—Investing More Time with Jesus. I believe you’ll love the experience.
(TMI)—Too Much Information. We live in a world that likes to overshare. From Hollywood actors and sport celebrities using Twitter as a platform to polish their image to Millennials who Snapchat their selfies in order to see who’s following them on social media. This present age is starving to get itself noticed.
Such behavior is nothing new to the history of human communication. Jesus cautioned his colleagues against seeking the limelight a bit too much. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1). Jesus goes on to warn his followers to practice the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, and fasting in such a way that pleases the Audience of One rather than the public-at-large.
So, why do we continue to overshare? The answer is love. We want to get our brand noticed so that others might love us. Is it any wonder that the most often used keystroke on Facebook is the like icon? We crave attention because what we really want to know is whether or not we are loved.
However, Jesus’ warning against oversharing is well worth hearing. The truth is that the love we seek through the attention of others is at best short-lived. At its worst, our public-wide search for love can be rebuffed.
St. Augustine once uttered these timeless words: “Our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in Thee, [O Lord].” In the words of an old, Country song, “we are looking for love in all the wrong places.” Augustine claimed that until we seek the One who alone can satisfy our craving for love, our search in every other person or place is hapless.
So, rather than sharing Too Much Information about yourself on social media this week, why not reverse the trend? Try (IMT)—Investing More Time with Jesus. I believe you’ll love the experience.