Your phone doubles as a gun. Here's how to find the safety.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:21-26)

This passage is part of the reason why I quit Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter years ago. Because every time I scrolled through one of these platforms it was leading me to hate rather than love my neighbor. It was like my phone doubled as a gun and every time I pulled it out of my pocket I was murdering someone in my heart. 

And so I quit. To this day, I personally spend zero time on these platforms. If social media stirs up anger in you, I would encourage you to consider doing the same.

Now I am not saying these services don’t add value to our lives—they do. But they also come with a cost, and for many people, that cost is spiritually toxic.

But Jordan, you don’t understand I need social media to do my job. 

That may be true. But if you can’t engage on these platforms without being angry it doesn’t make it right. Jesus didn’t say that his way would be easy. He said it would be costly—which means it may cost you a sale, or even your job (see Luke 14:26-33).

That said, I know many of you will have genuinely good reasons not to join me in quitting social media. So how can you engage in these services without treating them like guns that murder people in your heart? Here are three practices that can act like a safety switch on the metaphorical gun.

Pray before you scroll. Something like this: “Father God, You showed me mercy and grace when I was Your enemy. Help me breathe mercy and grace toward others who stir up anger in me as I scroll.”

Unfollow accounts that consistently stir up anger. You may need social media to do your job. But you don’t need to continue following that guy you worked with three jobs ago—especially if that person is causing you to use your phone as a weapon of wrath in your heart.

Listen to what your (literal) heart is saying about your anger. If you’ve got a smartwatch that monitors your heart rate, compare your data before and after using social media. Your mind might tell you you don’t have a problem here. But your heart might (quite literally) tell a different story.

The way of The Way at work is love, not anger. And so, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).