With The Perrys - How to Be A Christian on Social Media

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

The Perrys are back after many months away spent tending to their souls and their family. The time offline was good and at times “profoundly boring,” but as they re-engage with social media, they���ve got some thoughts. The Perrys discuss what scripture has to say about our character, and how Christians ought to be on social media because of what the Bible says. How we show up on social media matters, and we should honor Christ while we’re there. Scripture references: Ephesians 5:15-17 Matthew 6:25-34 Philippians 4:11-13 Philippians 2:3 Philippians 4:5 James 1:19-20 Matthew 7:3-5 Proverbs 4:23   This Episode of With The Perrys is Sponsored By: https://liberty.edu/Perry — Get your application fee WAIVED when you start your future with Liberty University today! https://fieldofgreens.com — Get 20% off and free shipping with code PERRY at checkout! Subscribe to the Perrys' newsletter: https://withtheperrys.myflodesk.com/zhfus4jx1s Join Preston's discipleship community for men: https://www.patreon.com/PrestonPerry/membership To support the work of the Perrys, donate via PayPal: https://paypal.me/withtheperrys Shop BOLD Apparel: boldapparel.shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi. Hey, Jackie Hill Perry. It's a new season. I knew the song was coming. It's a new day. I was like, in my mind, I was like, what song it's coming? A new anointing is coming. Y'all don't think that's a lyric.

Coming your way. Coming our way. Season of power and prosperity. I think you got a bug under your shoe. And that's disgusting. It's a big book, too. That's disgusting. Just ignore it.

I told Jackie the other day when we was in the Starbucks line, I said, if you would have got like vocal training growing up, you would have been actually really... He said growing up. He said your time has passed. Yeah, the time is...

Your vocal chords are mature. A new one, no one team. No, you probably can be tight, though, if you... Boy, you got auto-tune for that. You know what I get in the studio? Just tune me up. Tune me up.

You don't need no other gifts. You got like 90 gifts already. I do not. We keep establishing this the same thing. Words. It's one singular thing that is just made manifest in multiple ways, much like God's grace. The manifold wisdom of God. And now he sanctifies and saves the saints, you know.

Anyway, how are you, sir? It's been a while. It's been a while, man. I mean, I see you every day. But y'all, I ain't seen y'all in a month of Sundays. It's been a while since we did this. How does it feel to do this again? Yeah.

Normal. Indifferent? I mean, the spiritual answer is, oh, I'm so blessed to be able to share God's love and God's word through. But it's like, okay, cool. I don't know. I guess you're excited. No, no, no. I feel like I feel like they hate it here.

No, no, we don't. We don't hate it here. It's just a lot of work when it comes to just doing the podcast. Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we've been on break. I've actually come back from social media. You've been on the socials.

Yeah, you're still on your break. You're still on your social media break. How has your break from society and social media been? Well, some background. So we got off social media, stop podcast and all the stuff December 1st. With the intention of, for me, my conviction is, when it says about Jesus that when the report of him grew, he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Come on, bring the text. And I think we are in a culture and in a generation where they don't think withdrawing is actually useful. You know, they don't think that withdrawing is actually efficient. They want to keep working, keep building, maximize on the momentum, because I had a lot of momentum. But I think maximizing on momentum can sometimes be, I don't think you should do that

and I don't think you should neglect your soul. You get what I'm saying? Because it's like, yeah, what if I maximize on momentum and we keep putting out the podcast and I keep putting out content and I keep doing all the stuff? But my soul ain't right.

I'm not even able to give you anything well and the Lord ain't even pleased. So I think stepping away and being able to just focus in on my heart, what needed to be dealt with, what needed to be addressed, focusing on our family, all the stuff now. By the time this come out,

I'll be back on social. but at this point, I'm not on there. And it's just been, it's been incredibly boring. It has been profoundly boring. Like I just, I cannot express to you how I have read so many articles about, I know, I know more about tariffs than I know about the atonement at this point. I should not know what, what this is 20%, that's 10% when it crawled the border, do this, all that I should know all these things. Two, I think the boredom, though, has created a lot of space where I'm not as anxious. My mind isn't as full.

I'm not as aware of everything that's happening in the world, and I don't think we should be, because I think that burdens us. And so I think my mind feels clearer and emptier. Yeah. And I've been, I begin real good at Solitaire. That's good. So, yeah, it seems like... I'd be wiping that board out in like two minutes to 30 seconds.

Yeah, I'll be seeing you. We be on planes and stuff like that, and I'd be like, when I get back on social media, I'm just strolling and Jackie over there playing Minecraft, well, not Minecraft. Solitaire. Solitary in the other little game. It's just solitary. Oh, I thought it was. It's either articles, books, Bible, solitaire.

That's good. Those are the options. That's good. Yeah. And during my time off, I don't know how many months I was off. You got back on January-ish. So I was off. No, Februaryish.

Five months, four months? No, maybe two and a half, three. No, that wasn't true. I was off four months. Because I went off. No, you got back on by the time we had our anniversary, which is March 1st. You had been on. So when did I go off?

You were off two months. Two months. Oh, maybe it was two months. It felt like forever. No. Yeah. Yeah. When I got off or whatever, I felt some of the same things.

I felt, you know, like my mind wasn't burdened with so much, it was just so much on social media, you know, and I just kind of felt free. I found lakes to go to, to think, and to pray. And it was just really good for my soul. Also, too, I feel like I got closer to my children doing, doing my time off, because when you're not on social media and social media isn't fighting for your time, you have to talk to your children more. Yeah, you do. Which is a great thing. I think it's also revelatory. It's revelatory in the sense of, you know, what relationships are actually real. You know, because on social media,

you can have a version of relationship. I'm not saying it's not true, but it's just not, it's not consistent. It's not actual depth. By that, I mean, I can watch your stories and see what you post and somehow convince myself that I know you.

Yeah. But it's really, I'm just on the socials. So when you get off, if I don't have any inclination or you don't have any desire, like if we're not making connection outside of that social world, it actually means that our relationship is only a social media relationship.

Yeah, that's true. It's not a real life embodied relationship. You know what I'm saying? And so I think I just saw where, like, there are some people I think of off of socials that I have to, I have to, like, actually reach out to because I'm not on social media and vice versa. Yeah. And then others, I just, I'm like, oh, I forgot they existed.

I had a lot of that. I had not a clue. I had a lot of that. I forgot about you. What was crazy? am I following you and I forgot about you. You know what was crazy was when, like, I think it was like my first month off of the socials and multiple people text me.

It was like, I got to text you to see how you're doing because you're not on social media. That's so nice. That's so sad. That is not nice. That's like, that's, it's, it is nice that they reached out. I guess it is, but I think it kind of communicates that we actually know what somebody is like doing. their real life through social media and you actually don't.

It's like me posting a real about, you know, justification. You don't nothing about me. And I think that getting off of social media just forces us to like actually talk to people, which is cool. I think something that, not I think, something that the Lord, it wasn't like a significant dealing with, but he dealt with me on it for like a moment about time. And I'll just read it. It's in Ephesians 5, and Paul says, look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise,

but as wise making the best use of the time. Some translations say redeeming the time because the days are evil. And I realized that the way I handled social media typically, I think it's most of us, it really truly is a waste of time, the way I handled it. So I don't think social media is inherently a waste of time. I think when I'm scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling, I am in fact wasting time. And Paul's point is, it's like now that you are in Christ,

like when you was a Gentile, when you was a fool, you was wasting time because nothing you did had any eternal value. You over here just lusting all the time. You're lying all the time. You're being selfish all the time. You're being envious all the time. time, like the clock is surrendered to your depravity. But in Christ, he's like, no, even your relationship with time has to change.

Yeah, that's good. And so I saw like, oh, like, I'd be wasting time, time that could be used to transform my mind, time that could be used to meditate on scripture, time that could be used to pour into my children, time that could be used to go do something useful that has kingdom impact. Yeah, that's good. And so I think I really, I don't know when I return, I have to figure out some kind of system to not fall back into like not maximizing time. That was actually my next question for you. Like, what do you think, because I think this is the longest you've been away.

Yeah, five months. Yeah, five months. And what do you think your relationship looks like when you return? Have you processed that? Have you processed how you should return and what your relationship would be like? because I was telling you the other day, I think we should talk about it. Like when I came back to social media,

it looks different. Yeah, I think that's going to help me. What's going to help you? I think part of it will help me is coming back into a space that's unhealthy. You know, like, it's like, this ain't fun. Yeah.

This is what is doing to my soul, what is doing to my mind. And it ain't even like the average Christian. I can't speak for y'all carnal ones. But the average Christian, we're not even following non-Christians, right? And so there is a sense where it should be safer. It should be more edifying. It should be more fruitful.

But truthfully, it's also the shift in Christian culture that's happening that in turn is still affecting us, right? So if Christian content is all judgment and not instruction, if Christian content is all astral projection and not justification. Come on now. If Christian content is like if even that is deviating from the cross, then I'm still leaving empty. That's good.

And so I think a part of that dynamic low key is going to be a sense. Like I'm going to be like, oh, I'm cool. Let me go on back to South there. I did an IG live the other day kind of talking about this because a friend of mine said, are you back or are you not back? Because I came back, but, you know, my posting was, it's not nearly as frequent as it was when I was. I was going to say freaky.

I said, when was that happening? Nasty? I'm going to say frequent as it was before. And when I came back, you know, I was saying on the Algae Live the other day that just the social media like environment just seems different for me. I think it just seemed different. One of the things I was asking, you know, people on IG Live was, is it different or is it something that I didn't notice while I was here?

Interesting. And so I think when I was away, I think I just had a lot. I don't think it was longer than two months because I was off Thanksgiving. I was off all of November, December. What comes out of December? What comes out of the December? I don't know. January, February, March.

You don't have nothing to prove. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I was thinking it's four months. And so... I don't think you were gone in November. Yeah, because we didn't post nothing Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving feast, we didn't post it.

I was off Thanksgiving. I was off in November. I didn't post it because it wasn't nobody business. And we were all sick. We all had the flu. No, no, I was off. All of November I was off. Trust me.

Well, praise God. You redeemed the time. Right. So I think when I was off, I was able to like spend time with the Lord and really just spend time with my family. And then when I came back on social media, I don't know why things seemed weird to me. I don't like, has it always kind of been like this? Or am I seeing something that's new?

And so some of the things that I saw that was new, it just seemed like all of the content. And I don't want to seem critiquy because I put out content too. So the goal, FYI, is to offer some kind of criticism, but then to redeem it by offering instruction. Yes. So I set them up. This is the critique. It just seemed like content creation seems different to me.

Okay. It seems like people are just putting content out there, but it's not instructional. It just seems like people are just posting to be, to have content out there. And I was just like, man, like, when did everybody kind of get a podcast? Would it just... This bug on your foot is really... I don't know how you think we're going to. going to get through this conversation. Oh my goodness, Jackie, ignore the book. Let me put the shoe

over there. You know, you, you know what I'm saying? It just seemed like people were just putting content out. And it doesn't seem, it doesn't seem like it has an aim, it doesn't seem like it has a goal. I think seven, seven, eight years ago when people start doing a podcast, everybody kind of hit their niche. Everybody kind of hit their goal. Like, you follow this person to learn about apologetics. You follow this person to learn about sexuality. But now it just kind of seemed like, how can I put like the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, That sound bites out. Like, who can I follow to get...

What's wrong with that? I think... I don't think anything is wrong with that when we think about the world. But I do think that the church has to know that if we're not pointing people to a solution into Christ, like, what are we doing it for? And I do think that sometimes the content can kind of seem like, you know, let me follow this person to hear about, you know, this. or that and not like like i guess i'm trying to understand the issue because i don't i i don't see anything wrong with people creating content no no i don't think i don't think i don't think anything is wrong with creating content i do think sometimes the content can seem a little messy okay

so messy content messy content messy content gossipy content and it kind of it can kind of seem like the content is like the next uh breakfast club what we just learning about people's business that we're actually not being built up in our faith. Got it. I don't know. And when I did the Al J-Lava, I asked to people, I said, am I tripping? Like, do I think that sometimes you can have, you know, podcasts or interviews or whatever where we learn about stuff that really doesn't feed our soul, yes.

But I think when it's a consistent diet of it, I think the church can stray away from building people up in the faith, teaching people how to be disciples, teaching people. And I do think that sometimes the church can have. have a tendency to follow the world and how the world do do things. And I just don't want us to stray away from the, the missional goal that we have as Christians to pour into people, to teach people how to be Christians, to teach people how to be disciples. And so I don't know if I'm just being old-fashioned and over-critical, but I just, I do think that as Christians, I think that we should just be mindful of how we are instructing people. And I also think that sometimes, well, not sometimes,

I think that everybody is kind of getting into this social media space and everybody might not be the teacher that you know, you or another person is or whatever. And I think that if you are not a teacher, I think that you should be intentional in bringing teachers on your space to build Christians up and build the body up. Do you disagree with that? Partially.

What do you disagree? So what I do agree with is that everything we do, as believers should be useful. Yeah. That's basically what you're saying. Like, are you building up the church? Are you, yeah, are you useful? I think, I don't think you have to have a teacher or bring on a teacher to also be useful.

I think the problem isn't really teaching or the lack thereof. I think the problem is a loss of what the ultimate vision of Christians is, which is to make disciples. I think people have different missions. Right. I agree. That isn't Jesus' mission. And I think that's what's coming through. Because even if you aren't gifted to teach, if the mission is to make disciples of all nations,

he told all of us to go there for and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that I commanded. You ain't got to have to give to teach them to do that. So that's all I'm saying. Maybe I articulated it not well. But I think that's what I'm trying to communicate. I think that sometimes when I go on social media, I'm like, what is the purpose of this? Because I do think that there is a particular type of draw when I watch Shay-Shay.

The draw is not to teach you. The draw is to keep you. And I think a lot of times when I watch Christian content, it's like, I'm trying to keep you here. What are you doing when they're there? And so I think that's the shift that I'm. And so when I say like everything kind of seems like, with just doing things kind of how like the, and I. And truthfully, honestly.

And I watch club, Shea, Shea. Honestly. I'm not no shade. I hate that he named it that. Like what, even as a grown man, you saying that don't feel right to me. But I think what I see and have seen since we've been in this space for a long time is people love themselves. I think that's what I see. What do you mean by that?

When, I think the one of. the underlying motives behind a lot and a lot of stuff is we want to build our own kingdoms. Period. So I want to build a lot of followers. So what do I got to do to get these followers? I want to get a nice little check from YouTube monetization. What do I got to do to get that check? I want to make sure that people know my name.

What do I got to do to make sure? And we sanctify it. So we have pseudo or mild Christian content because we're not. going to go at so far as they have a strip on the pole. We ain't going to do that. You know what I'm saying? So it's going to be pseudo-Christian content, just not with the aim that Christ had. Yeah. And so I think that's a part of what's happening is that love is waxing cold.

I think when you love people and you love Christ, there is a concern for their heart, for their marriages, for their mind, for their speech, for their hearing that leads you in such a way to parent them. Really, I think real discipleship is a form of parenting. Yeah. It's how do I grow you up in Christ? Yeah. That ain't, again, that ain't about being a preacher, a teacher.

That's just about being a disciple of Christ. Thank you. Okay. So I think you're really needing my thoughts because this is a spirit. This is why I'm here to help. Yeah, this is very fresh thoughts for me. Yeah, I think, I think that's what I've kind of felt like because I remember when, you know, people, the content creation, particularly in the Christian community, saw it to change.

I remember it was a season for me where there were people who I followed and I got a particular thing from that ministry. I got a particular thing like I followed you for apologetics. I followed you for manhood. I followed you yada yada yada. And now I think that, you know, because of how lucrative that the content creation space can be, how, you know, you can build your own kingdom. I think so many people are getting into the space. and I think that when you are getting into the space with the wrong intentions,

you have to do what you have to do to keep people. And I think that if you don't have a purpose and like in an aim, in a ministry in which God called you to do a particular thing, you're going to start doing the wrong things to keep people. And things that really don't benefit people. So I just don't want the next generation to be disciples to just follow people just to learn about other people,

or get the tea or get the news. And it's like, no, how can we use our platforms to pour into people what God is pouring to us? And I want to be clear, because I know this isn't what you're implying, but somebody might think it, is so are you saying we shouldn't be interesting? Are you saying we shouldn't be creative?

Are you saying that our real should be boring? No. And that's not what we're saying. Like, because even Jesus says to be, you know, wise as a serpent, craft, like, which is crafty. Yeah, yeah. You know, crafty as. a serpent, wise as a dove. So I think if you apply that to the way you manage social media,

whether you're a Christian influencer or whatever, like even if you're marketing a book, there's a level of craftiness that it requires. There's a level of insight. Like, what is my demographic? What does my demographic respond to? How will they, how will they hear this? So I think being intentional and being creative is not problematic. That's not, that's a morally neutral issue. The issue becomes when the motive is not when, souls for the sake of God's glory. Yeah. The issue is winning eyes for the sake of your own ego.

Yeah. That's the problem. And so I think we have to ask the question of, why did I want my reel to be like that? Yeah, yeah. Or why are, like, do I ever have reels that are training but boring? Yeah. Stuff like that is a way to crucify yourself. Because I was even telling, I was telling somebody, I don't know who, I was like, there

have been times where I'm clipping out clips from a sermon. and I know what section of that sermon I can post that will get all of the engagement. But there's another section of the sermon that will not get a lot of engagement, but it's going to train somebody. It's going to rebuke somebody. It's going to challenge somebody.

It's going to do it. And I literally see it because I know what works. I've posted something that was like a gospel presentation. That got 300 clicks. Yeah. But I'm not 300, like 300 comments. And it's like I knew. it would do that. But I decided to do that because I knew that was edifying and I knew it was

crucifying to me. And so naturally you want to post the things that you know will work. But I think it kind of can help us to like don't always lean into what works if your heart ain't right. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah. So I'm not saying I'm not advocating for nothing. I don't always have to do. Like I have to think through that stuff. Yeah, yeah. And I can hear the, you know, especially a lot of content creators out there saying And like, man, like, I think the juicy clips actually draw people in. And I get that. And I do get, that can be a part of being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.

If I have a holistic message that I want people to listen to, you know, to get that juicy clip to say, I want to watch the rest of this episode. I think that's, you know, actually. That's a way to do it. I think that's actually wise. But I think also our reels are actually ministry because a lot of people won't listen to the whole. episode. And so like to just to think about, I think the thing, this might seem critiquey, but it's really done in love because I think what I'm thinking about is just the Christian community as a whole. And I think what a lot of young believers need, they need to be built up.

They need to be instructed. They need to be taught. And I think that, you know, how we do social media matters as it pertains to that. This is social media discipleship. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Because you can't think that he ain't lord over how you do that too. Yeah. Right. And so, I think my heart and desire is simply for all of us to be, have integrity. Yeah. And I think there's a big element of this that's rooted in not just selfish ambition, which will address, but fear. I think we are afraid that God will not provide. for us if we are faithful.

Break that down. So faithfulness sometimes is simple. Faithfulness sometimes is not exciting. Faithfulness is you got Jesus over here turning water into wine and not announcing it. You know, like it's like he did a miracle and only a few people saw it, but he was faithful. Yeah. I think it can be scary to do things that don't get all the rainbows and the fireworks and all the stuff. because that's the stuff that pays the bills.

That's the stuff that makes sure that your kids gonna eat. That's the stuff. So I'm saying some of our antics, some of our antics are motivated by the fact that we don't trust that God will provide for us even if we do the thing that shouldn't actually work. And that's where faith comes in.

Does this make sense what I'm saying? It makes a lot of sense. Because truthfully, for us to not podcast for six months, that's a hit on our income, right? That's a hit on the downloads. Because the way podcasting is set up, your downloads is what you give to the advertisers and the advertisers pay you based on how many downloads you get. So you get off social media for six months.

Guess what? The downloads don't go down. When the downloads go down, now your network is like, oh, we can't pitch you in the same way we used to pitch you because you don't have as many numbers as you used to have. So the average person is like, oh, now we got to keep these numbers because we got to keep that money. But we're in a position where it's like either I'm going to trust that he takes care of the birds who don't do nothing or I'm not. Yeah. And I, you know, and I had this conversation with, you know, people who are self-employed a lot. People always say, that's our biggest test. People always say like self-employed people, y'all got it made. It's like, no, it's very stressful.

Yeah, you actually, when you don't have a boss and you're your own boss, it's tough, Bucco, you know. And, you know, and I think especially with how our world is changing, you know, you have young people saying they don't to go to college. They want to be a YouTuber. I mean, you could be a millionaire. I ain't even mad at you. Yeah. What you got to do? And so I do think that Christians have to have to look at it differently.

Like, I think that you're right, that if God has called us to trust him, maybe sometimes, even if your job is all contingent on you, maybe he's calling you to step away because if this is truly ministry and this ministry is, is healthy depending on where your soul is, sometimes you need to step away in order to do this work effectively. And I think that we do a disservice to ourself and the people that follow us

when we're just running off of fumes because we're trying to maintain particular salaries and money and views and stuff like that. And all, like take care of your soul. Yeah. And some people don't actually have the luxury to step away. So, because if you don't have several streams, then stepping away would look different.

Yeah. But I do think it would be wise to take inventory and put, put the way you do stuff before the Lord. Yeah. You know what I'm like literally. And people will think this is minor, but I just think it's helpful because the Bible says like, no, trust in the Lord. Like, like, don't lean on your own understanding. So it's like, Lord, the way I'm wearing these captions, does that honor you? Yeah.

The way I'm doing reels, does that, does that serve you? Do you like that? The conversations I'm having, the topics I'm picking, the, the engagement. I'm like, is like, do you like that? Like, is there something you want me to change, something you want? Like, have we even asked him the question? Yeah. Of the way I'm using my influence and storing these platforms, do you like it?

Yeah, yeah, that's good. I think it's worth asking him. It is worth asking. Let me ask you this. For the person who might be listening or watching, and saying, yeah, that's easy for Jackie Hill Perry to say because she's Jackie Hill Perry. What does that mean?

I don't have the luxury to step away. I just say y'all, though. I know, but what I'm saying is, I'm saying is I would want, because as your husband, one thing that I saw you do, I saw you put out an EP that was successful. I saw you put out a book. We did a podcast tour and all the things. And so I think, like, like, when you stepped away,

Were there fears? Were there, were their temptation, you know, to say, like, my EP is not going to be as successful as it could be because I'm not here to support. So I guess, right? It took a hit because I left. Right. And so, like, when you got announced that your book was like, you can't announce where your book is at a certain place because you're off. And so, like, like, how do you work through dying to yourself, you know, as it relates to, like, stepping away for your soul when other things can kind of, you know, be suffering. I don't even want to you say suffering. You know what I mean. I think practically speaking, the Lord has always taken care of me. It's good. He's just always saying, when I was at Wendy's, he took care of me. You know, when I, when I didn't have a job for years, just ordering water when we went out to eat because why everybody else eating because I can't afford none of that type stuff. You know what I'd say? He took care of me. That was both of us. Yeah, like he took care of me. And so I think my history with God has anchored me in a way where I know you're going to take care of me.

Now, taking care of me means I have my needs, maybe not my wants. So there are some wants I might not have. But it's also like I've seen him take care of me when I've chosen to do what was right privately. There are deals I could have signed that would have made me a millionaire that I did not sign out of integrity. people don't know that. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like there are so many knows I've given out of faith.

And the Lord has always been, I feel like he's, he honors that. So I don't have as much as I could have. Yeah. I don't do as much as I could do. But my conscience is clear. And so I think that's thing. I think also Matthew 6, we got to get this thing in our system because I'll tell you, ooh, the anxiety.

And when you pair anxiety with, ingenuity, it's a dangerous game. You know what I'm saying? Like when you're anxious that he won't provide, but you also have the ability to make it work. That's good. You got to put that thing to death in a different way. Yeah, because you've got the ability and it's like,

if I could just do this. I know what to do. You know how many, I can write a book. I can do, I can do all types of stuff. Because I'm scared. And then the Lord's like, nah. Because I'm scared. I'm scared.

I don't know what the man is going to come. No. And Matthew 6, I think every Christian, self-employed, not stay-at-home mom, doctor, nurse, influencer, we got to get this in our system. Matthew 625, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. What you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air. They neither soul nor reap nor gather into bonds. and yet your heavenly father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to a span of life and why are you anxious about clothing, consider the lilies of the phil? Like the point of... What is the... What's the...

What's the... If he dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor, how much more... Come on. How much more... You don't want to join there? The point is he's a kingly...

That probably gives me a most... I'd be like, you're right? Do he be dressed in the lilies? Okay, go. He is appealing to nature. Yeah. And how nature does nothing, but it's taken care of. And I think we are some busy bodies.

We like, I got to take care of myself. I got to grind. I got to do this. I got to do that. And we don't want you to be lazy because that's sinful too. You know, like if a man won't work, they won't eat. We're just saying don't do it out of anxiety. Yeah.

Don't do it out of fear. Don't do it out of worry. Do it out of rest. Yeah. Like the Lord is for me. He sees me. He knows what I need. And I don't got to be shy-sty to make sure that I'm taking care of.

I don't got to be a liar to making sure I'm taking care of. Because truthfully, I don't want blood money. That's beautiful. Like I want money that like the Lord and gave me because he. That's beautiful. And you know, you talk about like, like, you know, the birds of the field and the lilies and all of that. I love nature.

And when you think about that passage, and this is going to be my little nerdy side coming out. But like the animals really do just trust that the season will come back around and they will be provided with everything that they need. That God designed it in a way where they're not just going to be out here, right? And so when spring comes, you see the bees, you see the birds.

You see, like they are literally taking care of. of. And if we're, if we're honest with ourselves, God has designed it even more for us. That like, like, like, like, even when things get rough and even when, you know, it's a drought season, like, no, if God is your provider, he is going to, he's going to provide you with everything that you need. And so like, if the birds can have that much confidence, how much us? Yes, man. Why you raise your hand? Because I got a text. Because, I want you to set this up. What does it mean that God is sovereign?

God's sovereignty means that he's all knowing, that he is in control of every second, every millisecond, every hour, every day, every month of our lives, that he is in complete control. And I think it's hard for me to think about, this is a side note. It's hard for me to think about God's sovereignty when it's not related to God's goodness.

Say it. It's hard for me not to think about God's sovereignty when it's not related to God's goodness because if God is just merely sovereign and not good, that's not good for me. But the fact that God is in control of everything, that he designed the world to work how he wants it to work, that he orchestrated my marriage, that he knew what kind of children I would have. they like like because he's a good god who's sovereign and is in control of everything that that works to my benefit and so when I think about God's sovereignty I think about a good God being in complete

control of my life and that's good news for me you know I want to draw out two ideas and I'm glad you said that because if you're a Christian, the Lord has called you to himself for the sole purpose of making you more like Christ. That is always his intention, right? To make you like Christ, okay? He's also sovereign. So it means that he curates circumstances with the aim of making you like Christ. how that relates to trusting in God's provision, how that relates to all of that,

is simply to say that when you are in a season of lack, it is because he has an aim to make you like Christ. If you are in a season of abundance, he has an aim to make you like Jesus. Which is what Paul says in Philippians 4. I have learned in every situation to be content. I know how to be brought. low, I know how to abound in any and every circumstance.

I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now, I know y'all love to quote that before you go play basketball. I know you love to put that on the bottom of your shoe before you hit a home run. Paul, contextually here, is talking about the highs and the lows and the Christian life. And he is saying that when I got a lot of money, I need God's strength. Why? Because when we're wealthy, we forget him. Yeah.

When all the man is coming, when all the likes are coming, when all the, like, when everything is going good, we forget him. There is a temptation to hear that where we can do all things who Christ who strengthes us and we think about just the tough things. Or all as in everything. Everything. By all he means hunger and plenty and everything that comes in between that. In both cases, I need God's strength.

And so I say that to say it means that if you are self-ful, employed or like I hope we talk to somebody if you are self-employed and you're in the situation was like I'm trusting him to provide yeah I'm trusted like I get it like you feeding the lilies but you're not feeding me that means he's doing something yeah if he's not responding at the pace that you would prefer he's doing something because even in that season of lack you're seeing shadows of unbelief you didn't know were there so he had to create this so you could be what more like Christ that's all I'm I'm saying he's always doing it because God has God has a very unique way of developing dependency in us.

He said about Kaya. Like he wants us to. It's the way you did not respond. You didn't quicken or nothing. Yeah, I'm not churchy. I'm sorry. I grew up on a block. I didn't grow up.

It's not about being churchy. It's the Holy Spirit. I mean, I felt it. I just didn't. I just didn't want to those? Yeah. I did it right. Whoopi.

Whoopi do. I hate how strong you did it. I'd be like, man. Ain't that a dance? It's not the ducky. That's why some church struggles don't be thinking I got the Holy Spirit. I don't think any of them do, actually. None of them.

But go ahead. People who value teaching and equipping. Yeah, I do think that the Lord has a unique way of developing dependency in us. And I think the Lord wants us to be dependent. on him. He wants us to know that he's a good father and he wants us to believe it. And I do think that a lot of times we get in a way of how God wants to take care of us. We think that we have the ability to take care of us better than God can. And it's like you really don't. And so sometimes I think God has to, in his sovereignty, shift things to make you see that not only should you not be taking care of yourself,

you really don't have the ability to take care of yourself like I can. No, you don't. So you need to just trust that I know better, you know. And so when I'm going through anything, I'm saying like, what am I doing? And what is God trying to show me about myself? Because I do think also two seasons last a little longer just because we won't get out the way. It's like this season would have been over if you just get out the way. Oh, it's been fall for two years.

So with that, we thought it would be helpful to give some bullet points about how to be, we just went on a whole rant about provision and stuff like that. I think it's helpful because all of us be struggling. Some instruction on how to be a Christian on social media so that we have language for what it would be like to navigate that. Because it's a part of our world. I think it will always be a part of our world. but we want to honor Christ while in it. And so I just wrote down five things that are rooted in scripture that I think we can talk through about how to be a Christian on social media.

Number one, we've addressed a little bit. Let me find it. It is number one, how to be a Christian on social media. One, do nothing from selfish. Ambition. You read it like the Hebrew Israelites. Read. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant

than yourselves. What does that look like to do nothing from social, selfish ambition on social media press and Barry? Yeah, I think we talked about it, but I do think putting out content with people in mind. like putting out kind like like thinking about how are people going to grow how are people going to be equipped how can I truly love people and so sometimes it is not putting out the content that you think everybody wants to hear but putting out the content that you feel like god is telling you they need to hear so what about the person that is not a content creator

because we have a lot of people that don't create content. They're just consumers of content. So how do they navigate social media without selfish ambition? I think also too, for the person who's taken in the content, you have to ask yourself, am I going to every single platform to be entertained or am I seeking to be built up? Am I seeking to be edified? Am I listening to people who are fully pouring into the body?

All my listen to people who telling you what everybody is doing wrong because it makes me feel good about myself. You know, I think last year you taught about itching ears. And I think we talked about this, our last podcast that we left off, kind of briefly talked about it. But there is a particular type of itching ears that we can have on social media. Yeah. An itching ear that says some kind, just like in Timothy, some content creators have accumulated people. Like, no, some, like, people have accumulated content, the content creators that they want. And those are the content creators that really are not building the body up, really not edifying the body, really not seeking to grow disciples, but they're just telling you what's wrong all day.

And I think it's something than else. You have to say, what is in me that is attracted to that type of content so much? and I do think that we naturally, not just people, like me, me myself, we naturally stray away from things that I want to challenge us. We love to hear other people getting challenged. We love to hear other people getting rebuke. But sometimes we need to say, man, who can I follow that will stretch me? Not to just tell me this person is wrong, that person is wrong. And so I think that we have a responsibility of paying attention to who we listen to. Now, it's a question. cool to have one or two podcasts where it's just creative and yada yada yada but also too just make sure

you're not listening to people who are actually being a cancer to the body of Christ and i think i really think that kind of starts with you know local discipleship and you know i think two ways that social media consumers cannot do anything from selfish ambition they're going to sound interesting but follow me i think one is basic on what you're saying is Do not open the app from a place of need. Break that down. Or thirst. Yeah.

So if a lot of us use social media as a bomb, as a numbing agent, as a source of dopamine, as a way to get a quick fix. I even remember that was like a week when I was off where I was feeling really discouraged. And I got back on social media for like five minutes just to read comments about myself. And the Lord was like, see, you used to do that every day. And you didn't realize that that fed something in you. Yeah. So now that you're discouraged, now that you fit. And I'm not saying that's, that's, I think we need to be encouraged.

The Bible says like, exhort one another every day while today is still to get. But at the same time, it was, I didn't realize how much of a neediness I was bringing to my engagement in social media. Yeah. Which meant that I was fundamentally dealing with it from a selfish place. And so I think that affects then who you listen to. to what you watch, how you comment, because you already came here not full. You came here empty.

You know what I'm saying? And so I think even monitoring the state of your soul before you even open the app, I think another way as a consumer and even as a creator to not walk on social media with selfish ambition would be sometimes, sometimes if I am in the room with someone,

whether it's my child, whether it's the Holy Ghost, maybe I don't need to open the app just so I can serve somebody else with my time, with my attention, with my words, with my prayer, with a question, with curiosity. I've sat in so many rooms

where everybody is on their phone and I know everybody is struggling. But because we're on this phone and none of us are counting each other more worthy of honor than our own neediness, we're missing each other. And so that's actually one way not to do social media

with selfish intent is to just get off of it sometime and serve the people that's next to you in fleshed. Yeah. That's it. Number two, how to be a Christian on social media. This one right here. Jesus in heaven at the right hand of God, we need this one so bad. Is that the second one? I'm on number two. Oh, you wanted me to keep going? Keep going. No, no. I thought, so what's the first one? Do nothing from selfish ambition. Do nothing from self. Okay, gotcha. Okay. Number two, be reasonable. It's the fact the president don't know where I'm going.

I wrote these last night. Okay. This is Bible. Philippius chapter four. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I would say rejoice. Rejoice in the... So you can break out a song.

I'm not joining in. You didn't join in my song. I didn't want you to. Selfish ambition. Verse five. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone, the Lord is at hand.

We don't, I don't think people know that verses in the Bible. Because the way y'all doing social media is telling me you ain't never read that. Have you not read it? Let your reasonableness be known, meaning. Break it down, bad. Break it down. Be rational. Yes.

Be thoughtful. Be thoughtful. Be considerate. Be mindful. Be sober. Be modest. Be hopeful. Like just be, you haven't been in the, we've had arguments sometimes where I am so in my feelings that I be.

No, no, never. You? Never in your, I'm, you and your, continue. Let's your reasonable when this means I'm not responding to that. So, like, you lack reason usually when you are the most emotional. So you talk out of your. emotions, you think out of your emotions, you have conversations out of your emotions. And that's what we're seeing in the comments all day long. Yeah. Is y'all ain't being reasonable. You're just spazing.

Like, like, I won't even say, like, you know, there was a recent somebody we love and know who was going viral and people making whole threads and whole think pieces that da, da, da, da, da, da. And at no point that they probably pray and process and meet with community and have a conversation, they're being unreasonable. And Paul is saying he wants reasonableness to be a part of your Christian apologetic. It should be like people should look at Christians and say they are so reasonable. Yeah. They were so thoughtful and considerate in their conversation with other people online that they disagree with. Yeah, that's good. You want to know one of the reasons why I think it's hard for us to be reasonable on social media. I don't know. I think we don't think God is watching.

No, yeah. Also, I think, I think, one, it is way easier to be in your feelings and to just be loose at the mouth when you are so disconnected from people that you're talking to. And I think the lack of proximity makes us just loose. Like we don't have a carefulness. Like when we have to rub shoulders with the same, you have to see that person in the church next Sunday. You're actually going to be more careful how you speak to them. And so there is a looseness that we have that I think. I think that's not honorable because we know that there's not a lot of consequences because we in the comfort of our own room and a wave across the country. And I also think that it's just not wise to be invested in people that you do not actually know like that. One, this is what I mean. We have to understand that when Paul gives this instruction, he was actually writing to local churches. He was writing to the church of Corinth. He was writing to the church in Ephesus, right? He was writing to local communities about being reasonable. And so I think a lot of times the proximity problem that we have, like gives us this era of illusion that we have access

and a viewpoint of people's lives that we don't have. And I think that also creates the unreasonableness. It's like, no, like you think you're being reasonable because you actually think you see something that you don't see. And I think that social media creates, as I said this last year, that it's like, it's like the sign in the review mirror. Object in this mirror seem closer than they appear. People on social media actually seem closer than they appear. And that's the reason why y'all be talking so much.

Because y'all think y'all actually see something that you don't. So that's why you are unreasonable. Like, there is no way you should be commenting about people. that you've never seen their skin in person. You never look them in the eye. You don't know. And so I do think that we just need social media etiquette. Like we need to understand that we see, but we really don't see.

And so what God is calling us to do as a global church is actually just pray for the people who are not actually doing life with and keep it moving and worry about your local community. And to be reasonable doesn't mean to not. not be, it doesn't mean to be timid. It doesn't mean to not be honest. Yes. It doesn't mean to not tell the truth. It means your approach. Reasons like to be reasonable means I never know the full picture. Yes. So I probably shouldn't comment so confidently. Yes. As if I'm sovereign. Yes. That's that's, that's because you're considering all the angles of all the things before you say what you had to say. Ooh, they don't know the Lord. Huh? Right. What? What? What? Because they, they drink it Starbucks. They drink it. That's a mermaid. They, they, they, they open it up doors. Huh? That's not reasonable. It's not reasonable. And this is me being reasonable. I can hear, I can hear people saying, if you put out stuff in the world, people are able to critique you. That's true. That's true. That's actually true. What we're not saying is you shouldn't critique anybody. What we're saying is that the way you should

critique people that you actually don't do life with should look different. Correct. It has to look different. It has to be approached with a different level of care, carefulness, and low-key love, like humility. Humility. And I think that when you actually do life with people, you're even able to pray different because of the proximity. You see the nuances in the person's life. And so you're able to pray differently and because you're able to pray differently, God is giving you insight to know how to talk to that person. You being so disconnected to a person on social media, not only do you not see the nuances in their life and see the things that make them do this and do that, right? You don't have the full picture. So you're not even praying for them

in a way that you would pray somebody to your real life. Or being reasonable might be also thinking wisely about what you're like ingesting, if that makes sense. So reasonableness is not just attached to criticism or comments or what you're perceiving. It's also what you're hearing. Are you listening well? Are you being reasonable in what you're taking in? That's good. But proximity to people that definitely helps reasonableness. But I like how Paul says proximity to God does. He says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. So it's like you being reasonable really is that you have in mind that he's coming back.

That's good. He's on the way. And him being on the way means, one, he's going to judge me. Two, he's going to judge them. And so the burden of me making everything, I got to tell them this because it's like, he's on the way. No worries. And so maybe even if we knew that he was on the way, we wouldn't waste our time on matters that don't matter.

Yeah, that's good. Number three. How? Wow. He didn't like this. To be a Christian on social media. Number three, be slow to speak and quick to listen. That's the third.

That's number three. You following me? Where is that in the Bible? So the third one is to be slow to speak and quick to listen? Yes, sir. Gotcha. It's all scripture. James chapter one, what's that verse 19?

and says, know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick. Everybody say quick? In the room? Everybody say quick? Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. How do you do that on social media? How do you be quick to listen?

Slow to speak, slow to anger. So for me Because you got an angry spirit Just put me out there We did podcast about this No you're not an angry man Thank you To clarify that

You're not an angry man You're actually a very meek man Oh In your flesh You got an angry spirit So how do you think people Should be quick to listen Slow to speak slow to anger

Yeah I think You know I know I talk about discipleship a lot but I think, you know, discipleship is really, really important because one way in which we can be slow to speak, quick to hear, is filtering what we think to another person. So, for example, you know, things make me upset. Right. A lot.

Right. And if I'm just in my living room in my backyard seeing stuff and I'm not, you know, I'm not. not because what that scripture is basically explaining is how to walk wisely as it relates to our emotions, right? And I think what wisdom says is instead of me responding to the first thing that irritates me, let me call a leader that says, what do you think about this? Maybe they can help color how you think. I did that the other day with Eric Mason. Some made me mad. Or even before I did the IG Live, I said, you know, I'm going to say this. You know what I'm saying? I'm saying. should say that. Well, I did it this morning, you know? Like I made a, I made a reel this morning about

about how I'm sick of people on social media saying that every, like people, people, people, men aren't real men. And I just think that it's destructive. And I think, and so I sent the reel to to Eric Mason. And Eric Mason was like, it can be, you can have more clarity right here. You seem irritated right here. Like, and so he just, he just helped me and help, you know, and so I think running things by people. When I see people angry on social media, I can just tell it's just impulsive. You are just impulsively saying what irritates you. And I just don't think that we can do that. We have to practice running things by people who are wise and into us so they can help shape our perspectives and also teach us how to move out in the world. And I think that's, I think if

we did that, I think it'd go a long way. Yeah, I think I think impulsivity. is definitely a thing. I've wrestled with that when people have come in me crazy like in the comments or in my DMs. I'm better. I'm way better. Way better, yeah.

Way better. But I would, I would feel the heat. You know, you feel heat in your chest. Ooh, you can deal with anger too. I think we all do. But I would just feel the heat in my chest and I would pop back, you know what I'm saying? And when I would do it, I felt vindicated

but I also felt sinful for two reasons. One, I don't think it honored the Lord. I don't think it honored that person, but I'm also a leader. And so it's like you're creating space for people to think that that's okay to do. And so like there's been plenty of times where I've made public apologies

for how I responded to stuff and stuff like that. And so I think being slow to anger requires some element of, I think, meekness. Yeah. And I say meekness because when you read through Exodus, like one thing you see about Moses is he was, he was an angry person, low-key. Like, in his flesh he was angry.

The dude murdered somebody. We need to forget that. And so when Miriam and Aaron and Israelites, they kept coming for this manhead. And the only thing that kept him right is that he would immediately fall on his face, immediately fall on his face. And it's when he wasn't falling on his face that he hit the rock. And so I think us going, people might feel like that's extra. But when you feel that heat in your chest, immediately, Lord, help me, Lord, keep me.

Lord, give me perspective. Lord, give me friendly. We serve God who when he was reviled, he did not revile in return for he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. And so I think that just the way we navigate our emotions and our feelings can be anchored and tempered when we pray quicker. And also, too, I just want to say this. We have to honestly ask ourselves. Are we responding to help people or are we responding just to get something off of our chest?

Oh, we are definitely channeling other anger. Yeah. Yo baby, daddy made you mad. Right. And somebody on Shade Room said something, and you say, you know, I'm going to get my lick off somewhere. Yeah. And it's just like, I think that you're just trying to get anger out.

For sure. Which is ungodly, but also too, you have to honestly act yourself. has anybody truly made you move differently by them commenting on something about you on social? No. Like the people who had the most impact in your life are the people who are actually in your life.

And you have to know that that's going to be the same truth. And so I think a lot of times it's just praying for people and entrusting that if they're Christian, God is going to send people to help correct what I don't like to hear or whatever they're doing. I think that we really just have to trust. trust the Holy Spirit in people, if they have it, and that God will send people to, like, correct whatever we see. Because I just don't think that, you know, it's effective to yell out

your anger on social media all the time. I think sometimes it's room for, like, you know, for us to disagree and whatever. I think it can be helpful. But I think sometimes it's just not helpful to say anything. Just trust in a person, local community and the Holy Spirit. And that's not forget. The verse also says be quick to listen. Yeah. Sometimes we have outrage over something nobody actually said. Mm.

That part. That part. They actually didn't say that. That part. You're hearing something else. Yes. Because you're not listening well. Yeah.

So I think we need to have better ears. Sometimes you need to listen once. That's what musicians do. They train their ears to listen. They play a song once, then twice, then three times, like to be able to live. And it takes humility to say, maybe I didn't get it all right the first time. You know what I'm saying? So it's like being slow to speak, being slow to anger, being quick to listen,

requires humility to say that maybe my comprehension ain't as great as I wanted to be. Yeah. Maybe I just, maybe they wasn't saying what I think they was saying. Maybe they were saying something like, because I think sometimes we are listening through trauma. We are listening through frameworks. We are listening through preconceived notions. And so you can't actually hear the person because your ears ain't clean. Yeah.

And I think that we have to look at social media like text messages. You know how like you can, somebody can read a text message. And they can, because of their trauma, they can actually read it in a way that you didn't intend. And it's like, it's like, so for the sake of clarity, I'm going to call you just so you know how an attitude. Correct. We have to understand that social.

media can be like one big text message group. And you know what? We actually don't really have clarity. And so we have to know that. Can I cut you off? I'm not being quick to listen. Truthfully, ain't none of us split personalities. So the character that you give us on social media is actually the character that you

have in life. So if you're not quick to listen in life, you definitely won't be on Instagram. If you're not slow to speak in life, you definitely won't be on threads. If you're not slow to anger in life, you won't be on YouTube. Like your character in life is actually just showing up in how you show up on social media. That's good. That's good.

Number four, how to be a Christian on social media. You ready? What's the fourth one? Let me go to the book. Matthew chapter 7, verses 3 through 5 says, Ooh, this is my favorite. Remove the plank. From your own eye.

What's the reference? Matthew chapter 7, verse 3 and 5. It says, Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is the log in your own eye?

You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. The reason why this is important. It's crucial. For how we manage social. media is it's much like what I just said is that we listen through frameworks.

Yeah. And we listen through preconceived notions, which affects our ability to actually hear what's being said. Yeah. Meaning when you are walking around with a certain, like when you have, like we all carry our own sin struggles. We all carry our own issues. And there is a way where our discernment and our helpfulness is,

hindered by our lack of purity. So if you remove the plank from your own eye, then you actually become more helpful to other people. So you probably won't be as judgmental in the comments. Yeah. You probably won't be as critical when you watch a certain sermon clip that didn't bode well with you. You probably won't sin. Like you just, you'll move different because your heart is cleaner. Yeah.

That's off. That's good. That's good. Because what the text is basically telling us, it's the judge. It's literally telling us to judge, but it's giving us instruction of how we can judge righteously. That's all it's doing. And so I think that for people who understand that the text is telling us to judge, they might not, they might understand that concept, but they might not understand the process of taking the plank out of your own offers. Because the problem isn't people have a problem with you judging, is that a lot of times we don't know how to judge righteously.

And the reason why we don't judge righteousness is because we don't see clearly. Correct. And so that's all the text is saying. It's like when you can see clearly, you can actually judge righteousness. And I think God wants us to judge each other righteously. And I think in order for us to judge each other righteously, we have to see people right in the right way. And I think a lot of times we just don't see because like one, if no one can correct you, you probably are seeing other people wrong. that's good that's the first sign of if you like if you can if you if you if you're never if you're never able to be corrected

your judgment of other people is not done righteously yeah because you don't see yourself yeah so you cannot see other people yeah you're not even practicing submission relationally and so there probably is a sense a sense in which your lack that that that's pride right so it's arrogance And truly, truly, I'm going to beat this horse to the ground. We are all functioning from a place of shame sometimes. Yeah. Where you want to ingest the content you ingest because you haven't repented of that thing. Yeah.

And so it's easier for you to be like, oh, look at them. They this, they dad, they this, they that. Because you want to scapego. You want to find something else to do. deal with you know what I'm saying so it's just like I think the Lord the Lord is is kind but I think ultimately what I'm trying to say is I think what scripture is trying to say is like God wants us to be useful yeah God wants us to help each other we are the body so like low key we are all kind of doing what he wants us to do which is to help each other to pray for each other to think about each other

to watch for each other to do all the stuff it's just we're we're not going to handle each other well yeah when we're hypocrites yeah that's the whole point we're not going to do it it right. And so do the work. Like this is why having a healthy prayer life, having time and descriptions by yourself, having people in your space, that type of stuff helps you to see the plank. Because you can't see your own plank. You need a mirror. You need somebody to reveal that to you. And so as you do that type of internal work, then you'll be able to handle social media, I think, in a way that is honorable. Yeah. Number five. This is the last one, and I think it is very important. Guard your heart. Yeah. This is Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23. It says, keep your heart with all

vigilance for it, for from it flows the springs of life. I think a lot of times we think about guarding our heart as it relates to sexual purity, but I think we need to think about guarding our heart as it relates to everything. Yeah. Right. And so if I am struggling with a, like let's say I'm struggling with self-righteousness, I probably don't need to be watching the heresy hunters. If I'm struggling with, what's the word? What's the opposite of legalism? Like, licey interest. If I'm struggling with taking advantage of God's grace, I probably need a dose of Phil Mitchell. Yeah. I probably need to guard my heart from the people that's just giving me all these soft, easy words that ain't challenging the idolatry in my heart. Because I'm guarding my heart from them because I know

that's what my heart wants. Yeah. Right? And so it's like guarding your heart means watching who you follow, watching what content you ingest, watching how much time you spend on it, watching. Like for me, I got to guard my heart from comments. Yeah.

In two directions, pride and discouragement. Because in the same section where I'm getting gassed, it's the same section where they are beating me up. And so the way I guard my heart is I have to just release the content and leave. I cannot go into the comments. That's me guarding my heart. Yeah, yeah. I think you said everything that I would say.

I was just going to say something along the lines of that. Like knowing what makes us non-effective, we know what makes us non-effective Christians. We know what makes us selfish. We know what feeds our ego. We know what feeds our pride. And we know like because we, we were born and seen, we naturally go to the things that will feed our egos. And I think that we just have to be honest with ourselves and say, what do I need?

Not what I want. Like what do I truly, I truly need? If you struggling with loving your family and being at home, maybe you need to stop following all the vacation accounts. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? If you struggling with being sinful, and you just want a cake, maybe you need to stop following all these relationship accounts. Yeah.

It's like, and it's not, we're not talking up, this ain't even about sin. Yeah. This is about guarding yourself in such a way where you're not putting yourself in the position to be more discontent. Yeah. To be more anxious, to be more proud, to be more self-righteous. It's like you're protecting yourself from what your heart and what's like, what won't benefit you.

Yeah. And also, too, I think. in that vein, I think a lot of us, we grow a lack of contentment for our local churches because we're looking at other churches and thinking that church is just amazing. Yadabake! That was not a real tone. Yeah, right. Yada back.

That's why I didn't do this. I hate that. Because I didn't feel it in my spirit. I didn't feel that one either. I didn't feel it in my Shonda. But I do think that we go back into our local communities. and because we're looking at this church online, they do this, they do that.

But I bet you nine times out of ten, you join that church in the year, you're going to have probably just as much complaints. Right? And I think we just naturally just grow a lack of contentment to things that we're used to. And so it's not until things are gone and we actually realize how much of a blessing it is.

And so I do think that like serve your local community, be content with the things that's in your life, like in general, whether that's your marriage, whether that's your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, whatever, be content. And, and you do what you can to make it better because social media has a tendency to make you think that your life sucks. Yeah. Because you're looking at it from afar. But as soon as you get close, I'd be like, oh, y'all just a jacked up saying. Yeah.

So. I mean, that's it. That's all your, your point today. Yeah. I just want us to do this thing the right way. Yeah, man. Hopefully this helps somebody. All right, bye.

Peace. With the Perrys is produced by the Perrys, with support from Amanda Reed and Channing McBride, video recording and audio production by Matthew Baxter and Xavier Fairley, edited by the team at Tread Lively, artwork by Hop and music by Swoop. Thank you for listening. Now go with God.