Monday, September 7, 2026
1 Peter 2:11-17
Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
One of the best decisions I made for my own health was to step away from posting on social media. If you don’t know, social media is engineered to hook your attention in the same way as a slot machine. It relies on an emotional trigger, like a post from a platform you disagree with politically. Then it gives you an easy means for reacting to that content you don’t like. Once you interact, it uses your ‘friends’ to create an unpredictable reward, a “like”. Finally, as you interact with it, it learns more about you and optimizes the algorithm to reinforce this loop.
So, during particularly spicy times in our nation's history, I might post my thoughts on something, thinking that it would be shared with my friends in a way that could do some good. That is a naive approach because the way Facebook actually uses it is to increase engagement, and sadly controversy and arguments are the best fuel for engagement.
So, my content—and anything you post—would be sent to people who would disagree with it first so that an argument would begin, then it is shown to your friends who want to protect you, so they “like” and comment which creates social obligation for everyone. Before too long, you’ve got a socially engineered free-for-all.
Often people will ask me why I don’t post when there are hot-button issues. This is why. Also, unlike most people, I have the opportunity to reach people in a variety of other ways.
Peter had no concept for social media when he wrote this, but it sure is helpful for people living through this moment in history, isn’t it? Your words on social media are being used against you. It is a fact. So, do you know what the surefire way to share your faith is? Behave like a Jesus follower. Let your actions speak of your love for Jesus: care for the poor, visit the sick, forgive people, share your resources. These are all ways we can point people to Jesus in 2026 that are better than the social media trap.
What is one way that you can share your faith without words this week?
– Pr. Jason
Jesus, thank you for using my life as a witness to your love and kingdom in this world. Amen.
