Written by Lesallan – December 14, 2023
Social Media Friends and Real Friends
Written by Lesallan – December 14, 2023
Hey, everyone! I hope you are having a blessed day. I wanted to talk to you about something in my heart lately. It is about the difference between social media friends and real friends and what the Bible says about this.
You see, I have a few followers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms. Furthermore, I am very thankful for that. I love interacting with you, sharing my faith and testimony, and seeing your actions. You make me feel like part of a ministry, which is fantastic.
Nevertheless, here is the thing: as much as I appreciate your support and feedback, I do not consider you my real friends. Moreover, I do not mean that in a wrong or harmful way. We do not have the same kind of relationship as I do with my real friends.
Real friends are the ones who know me personally, who have seen me at my best and worst, who have been there for me through thick and thin, who can call me anytime and vice versa, who can hang out with me in person, who can pray with me when I need it, who can make me laugh until I cry, who can challenge me and help me grow, who can share their deepest secrets and fears with me, and who can love me unconditionally.
Social media friends are the ones who like my posts, comment on my pictures, send me emojis, watch my stories, retweet my tweets, follow my updates, share my content, give me compliments, and agree with me or disagree with me respectfully, who support my causes and interests, and who admire me or relate to me.
Do you see the difference? Social media friends are friendly and fun but are not real friends. They do not know the real me. They only know the version of me that I choose to show online. They do not see behind the scenes of my life. They do not know what I am going through daily. They do not know my struggles and challenges. They do not know my dreams and goals. They do not know my flaws and mistakes. They do not know my joys and sorrows.
Furthermore, that is okay. I am not saying that social media friends are worthless or fake. I am just saying that they are different from real friends. Furthermore, we should not confuse the two. We should not expect the same intimacy and commitment from social media friends as real friends. We should not rely on social media friends for our emotional needs and well-being. We should not neglect our real friends for our social media friends.
We should be realistic and honest about social media friends: they are social media friends. Nothing more, nothing less.
Nevertheless, what does the Bible say about this? The Bible tells us that friendship is a gift from God and that we should cherish it. Proverbs 17:17 says: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 18:24 says: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” John 15:13 says: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” These verses show us true friendship is based on love, loyalty, sacrifice, and trust.
The Bible also warns us about the dangers of false friendship. Proverbs 16:28 says: “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” Proverbs 22:24-25 says: “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.” James 4:4 says: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” These verses show us that false friendship is based on strife, anger, envy, and compromise.
So, how can we tell the difference between natural and social media friends? Well, one way is to look at their fruits. Matthew 7:16-20 says: “By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit; a bad tree cannot. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them.” The fruits of real friendship are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV). There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:23 NIV).
Blessings In Christ,
Lesallan
