As Americans, we proudly flaunt our right to free speech. It is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, and anytime we are challenged on just about anything we say, we will appeal to this God-given right. Although freedom of speech primarily focuses on the right to political speech, keeping the powers that be in check, and ensuring a healthy Republic, the First Amendment has been used to protect the vilest expressions in our country. Our birthright is to be able to say what we want, when we want, and to whomever we want. Furthermore, there should be no repercussions.
However, with freedom comes responsibility. You are free to drive a car. You are not free to drive a car into a crowd to maim or kill anyone. You are free to own a firearm (currently). You are not free to use it indiscriminately on others. You are free to speak. You are not free to scream “fire!” in a crowded venue when there is no fire because it can cause people to injure themselves or others. Your freedom of speech comes with responsibilities and, therefore, consequences.
Christians, of all people, ought to be fully aware of this. What we say, not only in interpersonal relationships face-to-face but also online, has consequences. These consequences are not limited to me as an individual but affect everyone with whom I am in a relationship.
Because social media are the places of cultural conversations, I will home in on that area concerning our freedom of speech.
By their online activity, many Christians appear to believe that their freedom of speech is absolute. They are accountable to no one for what they say online. Any family member or church officer confronting them or enforcing boundaries on their online speech is considered a “tyrant.”
Tyranny does exist in places. Where there is no allowance for any pushback, especially when it is for the health and welfare of others, then, yes, tyranny exists. However, many Christians are immature snowflakes who see every boundary and every responsibility as “oppressive.” They are the church’s version of intersectionalists, constantly aggrieved because they are victims. If you call them to account for their speech and its broader effects, you are the bourgeoisie to their proletariat status. These people are difficult to deal with because victim status ironically has great power in our cultural milieu.
What every Christian online warrior must realize is that he is responsible for his speech, not only directly to God (which is true) but also to his place of employment, his family, and his church, all of whom are affected and, therefore, have stock in what you say. Because your place of business, family, and church experience good or ill by your activities, they all have some say in what you say.
As a Christian, you are a member of the body of Christ, the church. Even if you are not the pastor, an elder, or a deacon, what you say online affects the reputation of every other church member. Officers’ words have a great deal more weight because of their vocation, but the words of every church member carry some weight. Because of this, each member must consider the effects of his words on the reputation of others in the church. Each member also needs to understand that the pastor and elders have a responsibility to guard the name of Christ by guarding the reputation of their particular church. They have the right and duty to police the speech of the members to protect their reputation.
There is no way for a Christian to remove himself from his connection to the church and simply “speak for himself.” Your membership in Christ’s church and connection with all her members is inextricably bound to who you are. You can say, “I’m not speaking for the church of which I am member” all you want to qualify what you say, but your words still affect the rest of the body. No one part of the body exists in isolation from the other parts at any time. What one member does in word or deed affects the entire body. Qualifying your words with something such as, “I’m not saying this as a church member” is like saying, “I’m not committing this sexual sin with this man or woman as a husband or wife. I’m taking off that ‘spouse hat’ for this tryst.” It simply doesn’t work that way.
Everything I say, I say as the husband of Susan, the father and father-in-law of my children, and the grandfather of my grandchildren. My words affect their reputations. Everything I say, I say as pastor of Cornerstone Reformed Church in Carbondale, IL, a member of the Communion of Reformed and Evangelical Churches, and Presiding Minister of Tyndale Presbytery. Therefore, I must consider the effects of my words on everyone with whom I am connected. I am not free to say whatever I want whenever I want. As a Christian, I must think of the welfare of others and give up my real or perceived rights when it benefits the church. I must curb my desire for attention by using rage bait and other inflammatory rhetoric, understanding that these are immature and selfish actions that seek to promote me at the expense of others.
I must also realize that in submission to the leadership of a church, they have authority over me in what I do online. I’m not a free-range Christian, even in the digital world of social media. Submitting to authority means that I am accountable to them. They can and should tell me where I am stepping out of bounds, and they can and should use the authority of the keys of the kingdom to correct sinful actions.
You are free, but freedom doesn’t mean “unrestrained” in God’s economy. Freedom is the ability to be what God created you to be; you are free from the tyranny of sin that would destroy you and everyone around you; you are free not to look to your own interests but the interests of others (Phil 2:1-11). Before you post something, ask yourself or someone else how your words might affect others. Use your freedom wisely, the way God intended you to use it.
