This Week’s Lenten Challenge: Social Media Fast

We’re halfway through the first week of Lent, and already I’m finding myself with the jitters. Not because I’m craving sugar, chocolate, or alcohol, but because I’m craving the “quick fix” of busyness!

If you’ve joined us lately at The Parish, you know that we’ve been discussing the danger of busyness in our everyday lives. Staying busy may not seem like a dangerous thing. In fact, it may seem like a virtue in our fast-paced culture. An un-busy person is often thought of as unimportant, or even lazy! But beneath the surface, busyness is a quiet problem that plagues our lives more than any other.

How can we listen to God if we don’t have time? How can we even begin to address the cultural voices that ring in our heads, the voices of Emotionalism, Individualism, Capitalism, Consumerism, and “Fame-ism,” if we’re buried under packed planners and stressed-out sleepless nights? “Just keep working hard,” we say to ourselves, “and everything will turn out alright.”

But the truth is, we’re not alright. And in our quietest moments, we know it. This is why at The Parish during the season of Lent we are focusing each week on a different way to try and practice Sabbath in our daily lives. We’re trying to create margin; to carve out space that quiets the noisy voices of culture and helps us hear the still, small voice of God.

This past Sunday, we addressed the issue of “Fame-ism,” the fact that we often equate our significance with our popularity. Put another way, we tend to look to others to determine our value, instead of listening to the identity God has given us through Christ.

So our challenge for the week is to fast from social media for seven days. We’re tuning out the “digital brands” of our friends and gurus, and turning our eyes away from the “highlight reels” we often compare ourselves against. For some of us, this won’t be difficult at all. For others, it is a bit more of a challenge. But hopefully, for all of us, it will be a breath of fresh air.

Our hope is that somewhere in these seven days, we begin to experience freedom from the “Fame-ism” that quietly controls us, and begin looking for our identity in the only One who really matters.

Take the challenge. Shut down the feeds. Quiet the voices. Delete the apps if you have to! And join us next Sunday at 5pm, as we confront the voices of Capitalism, and continue making space for God’s kingdom.

This week, as you disconnect from social media, share with us what you’ve learned.

What has been difficult? What has been freeing? Where have you found rest? Post a comment and join the conversation.