Fasting from Facebook

I have recently taken leave of the social media platform called Facebook. I felt the Holy Spirit applying pressure on me weeks before Ash Wednesday, February 10th this year. When I took the time to pray and reflect on things that I seem to take the most pleasure in, it seemed to be the most obvious decision.

With my time of abstinence from this platform, I've managed to discover a great many wonderful things that I seem to have lost along the way. Each day appearing to bring a new wave of fresh air as I used the time to focus on other things. Some of the things I've managed to bring back into focus is a renewed commitment to spend time in prayer and fasting. This is not to say I have not participated in these spiritual disciplines, but since I have shifted my focus from social media to private prayer, it has had a profound impact on my approach toward ministry.

Another perk that has come to the surface as a result of this Lenten observation is a greater sense of time and appreciation for my family. When we go out to eat, I am not consumed with the endless thread of comments and posted articles in my news-feed. Rather, I am better able to give my wife and daughter the attention they deserve, having deeper conversation with them about life and faith.

Facebook has been a readily accessible pocket-sized companion that would often distract me from my focus on more important matters throughout the day. I've since gained a better handle on managing the affairs of office responsibility and given greater attention to my master's studies as a student of Asbury Theological Seminary. Although it may have some part in the fact that I no longer have notifications constantly going off on my phone of some new post or comment on the discussion groups I have been a part of, it also has much to do with the simple fact that I have no Facebook to check - even with the notifications disabled.

Perhaps one of the greatest things I noticed in this sacrifice is the peace I have gained knowing I am not bound to a device that seemed to have so much control over my life. My time in prayer and service has been liberated to spend with the Lord and with the people He has called me to serve instead of checking my Facebook every five minutes to see if I missed something. The irony is that I was missing so much more when I was bound like a slave to this tiny machine in my hands.

Richard Foster once said, "More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ" (Foster, Celebrations of Discipline, p.55). The time I've spent removed from social media has truly revealed it to me as something that was controlling me. I am truly grateful for the Spirit's leading me to consider suspending my use of it for the experience of something far more fulfilling.

I have been exposed to the deeper significance of something the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians when he said, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12). Although many might think this is a rather absurd thing to say, but Facebook had a great deal of control over my life. In all honesty, I felt that I had become a slave to it. Surely, there is plenty of reason one can argue for the good purposes of Facebook, but what I have gained by the exercise of suspending it from my life has brought me a great deal of joy and freedom. I do not want to be mastered by anything other than my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is my prayer that others might be willing to consider taking a temporary leave of Facebook in order to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal something far greater than the cultural norms we often justify in our lives. You may just find a sense of peace you have been missing; a greater sense of connection to the Lord than ever before.