My frustration with Satan’s prominence within the media

  A big hello to all the ladies reading this post, I hope y’all are well (and also to my male folks who just happen to be passing by).

First and foremost I’d just like to say a big thank you, to all who have shown support to this blog. Whether it be by liking a post or sharing posts with friends and family, your love is much appreciated! It’s also another great way in which we can help spread the word of God to the masses.

Now onto the MAJOR issue I’d like to discuss today, following on from the sentence ‘spreading the word of God to the masses’, how have you done so today? This week? This month? I do not ask this question to you today, with the intention to make you feel condemned, as that is NOT my motive at all! My motive today, is to highlight that there is someone hard at work with his several agents, trying by all means to spread a message. And guess what, his message is certainly being spread, seen, and heard by a multitude of people. His message is pure evil and his intentions are also evil. This individual and his followers intend to prevent people from receiving the message of truth! I’m sure you have guessed the person/people I am talking about by now, but if not don’t fret as imma tell you who they are anyway…SATAN and his demons! It makes me SOOOO angry to see the devil go around destroying people lives, and robbing them of the opportunity of knowing God and Gods word. As a soldier of Christ I desire what God desires, which is for none to perish but for all to have eternal life (2 Peter 3:9)!

I personally feel that the devil is really infiltrating the media, from billboards to adverts and cartoons, it seems almost impossible to avoid material of sexual content. He really has a stronghold over the media industry, and I believe it is something we should seriously pray about! My desire is for God’s word to infiltrate the minds of people across the world, and for Christians to have prominent positions within the media industry.

I believe the devil is using social media to attack churches. There is a lot of verbal persecution geared towards the church in this day and age. I also find the media to be very one sided, mainly highlight churches faults and sins! I hardly see the media videoing the good deeds/charity work carried out by church folk. Media highlights preachers faults. But one thing we must remember is that God forgives AND forgets sin (Hebrews 8:12). And we know this is true because God says love does not keep a record of wrong (1 Corinthians 13:5). And we know that GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:8). As Christians sometimes we end up making things worse for the body of Christ, by our speech and actions. By us continuously replaying another person’s sin, we are actually not doing ourselves any favours. Usually constantly speaking of someone else’s faults, leads us to gossiping. We can also prevent others from coming into Gods house, because we leave them feeling fearful. They feel like if they slip up, that’s it, the whole church will know about their mistakes, and they’ll be verbally attacked (having multiple bullets of condemnation fired their way). Anyway who are we to hold unforgiveness when Christ has already forgiven (assuming they’ve confessed their sin)! Also we are to look to Christ, not to our pastor or another Christian brother or sisters. We are not to put man (this also includes women) on a pedestal as only Christ is perfect! Taking that point into consideration it should not surprise us when others make mistakes, because all have sinned and come short of Gods glory (Romans 3:23). That’s the whole point of why Jesus came, because no one is without sin (1 John 1:8 and Ecclesiastes 7:20). Also the bible says a righteous man falls 7 times but gets back up (Proverbs 24:16). I do not say this with the intention of saying it is ok to sin, or live in habitual sin, I’m just trying to give those reading a clear and balanced illustration of the point I am trying to make. We must also understand that praying for a brother/sister/leader in Christ will do more good, than chit chat. To be quite frank chit chat accomplishes NOTHING, and pulls you away from God, as you indulge yourself in the sin of gossiping (Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 18:7-8 and Leviticus 19:16). Also remember we are called to rebuke in love, so if you are in a position where someone is accountable to you, correct them in gentleness so they will not be discouraged (Galatians 1:6).

The second issue I have identified with regards to the negative attributes of social media, is that the devil uses it as a tool to dictate to people how they should live. I feel that girls in particular are a specific target for the enemy, in this area. We are very much in the firing line of the enemy concerning sexuality and how we should look/dress. Unfortunately society has brainwashed people into thinking that girls have to walk around practically naked, with a lot of makeup on, in order to be perceived as beautiful. This is not to say that men do not go through their own social media battles. What I have recently observed is that guys are pressurised into thinking, they are not ‘manly’ enough if they don’t have a banging body. They got to have those abs and guns otherwise they are not winning. They must have several women falling at their feet. Males I want you to understand that the size of your muscles, does not determine whether you are a man or not. As Andy says ‘You could be a boy until the die you lay in your grave’. Both sexes are also encouraged to jump in bed with everyone and anyone, because life is all about satisfying your own needs and desires. It doesn’t really matter about hurting someone else. The thing is the bible warns us against living to satisfy our sinful nature (Galatians 6:8).  Another trending theme I’ve taken notice of is relationships. The media expresses that, if you’re not in a relationship, or have never been in one, you are simply not a human being. Sounds stupid or harsh when you hear it put in such a way, but that’s just me not beating around the bush, and uncovering the nasty reality of how vile social media can be sometimes.

The beauty feature that has everyone hyped up in our present day, is having a big bum. Society’s perception of beauty has left many women in debt/bankruptcy, due to them having plastic surgery which they can barely afford. Damage to women is not only financial, but also psychological and emotional. Many women and young girls sadly feel that they are not beautiful, or good enough, when lined up against society’s standards and expectations. I would just like to end this paragraph by saying I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with wearing makeup. I just feel issues arise when people feel uncomfortable within themselves, and are solely dependent on makeup/artificial beauty. To the extent where they feel they cannot be seen without makeup, and wouldn’t dream of leaving their house without it on. We must learn to LOVE ourselves, we must learn to love and except that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). I would also like to clarify that there is nothing wrong with having a big or flat bottom, or a large or small chest, praise God for making you the way He desired you to be created and formed. Rejoice in your beauty. There will never be another you!

My third and final observation on the tactics the enemy uses, through social media is bulling. Several people have been bullied via the media. Many people have had an embarrassing moment recorded or pictured, which has gone viral, and has received many horrible and sarcastic comments. This leaves people feeling extremely hurt and can leave people being fearful of going out in public. I must admit that I am also guilty of laughing at someone’s embarrassing moment, which is not a kind or respectful thing for me to do to a fellow human being. It is so great to hear about bullying awareness schemes, but I still feel that some people are unaware of what bullying is. Verbal bullying is a serious problem, as the effects of verbal bullying are not always physical. Many people do not see a crushed spirit or broken heart, especially those hidden behind a smile. Unfortunately social media has paved the way for keyboard warriors to attack and bully who they want, when they want. Name calling or using any form of abusive language over a social media medium i.e. twitter or Facebook IS BULLYING, full stop. Sadly bullying drives some people to the point of despair, where they feel the only way out is to commit suicide. And we know that this is exactly what the devil wants, as he goes about like a roaring lion looking for people to kill, steal from and destroy (1 Peter 5:8 and Romans 10:10). I really want us to understand that bullying is a SERIOUS matter, and that we all can do something to bring a stop to its prevalence within the media. It does not matter if the part we have to play in ending bullying is small or big, what is important is that we actually do something.
I don’t believe that media (social media) is evil, but I believe that Satan is using it for evil (Acts 13:10)! But Gods word says that He turns around evil for good (Genesis 50:20)! You hear that Satan it’s already game over for you! Not all of us fall into Satan’s traps of deception so easily, but there are many people out there who do. So it’s our duty as Christ soldiers to warn others about the enemies’ plans, and to minister to the unsaved. We can all help infiltrate the media with the gospel message, by playing our own part! I decided to devise a short list of ways in which I thought can help us all spread the gospel message via the media. The ways in which we can help spread the gospel are as follows…

1) Post a word of encouragement on Twitter/Facebook.
2) Post images inspired by Gods word and share with family and friends on Instagram.
3) Send encouraging Whatsapp messages.
4) Record/picture the good work which God is doing in your life/church (Do so as the Spirit leads). Never feel forced to share all personal details of your life, as we all like to keep certain things private. I’m aware we all like to keep some matters CONFIDENTIAL (and frankly I don’t blame you, due to the sad fact that some people abuse they way they use the internet)!
5) Pray over the media.
6) Fast regarding media issues.

7) Speak out against bullying, and do not help spread hurtful videos or pictures of people.

8) Christian artists need financial support in order to help promote their work and reach many more people. (This is something I felt God personally ministering to me about). I feel lead to financial support Christian artist by either purchasing their album, OR by donating to their ministry. Just imagine if every Christian in the world donated a penny towards Christian media ministries, it would go such a long way. I’m sure you’ve heard the statement ‘every little helps’, and truly it does. There are 7.3 billion people in the world, just imagine collecting 1p from every person, you’d end up with A LOT I’ll leave you to do the math! But no one should feel forced to give, or give what they do not have. We should give cheerfully as the bible says (2 Corinthians 9:7).

I am sure many of you will have several more ideas to add to the list, on how we can help spread the gospel, so please feel free to share them with me. But I earnestly hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post, and will join me in fighting against the kingdom of darkness operations within the media. Starting from NOW, let’s not allow the devil to keep causing havoc. Let’s start spreading Gods word NOW!!! Let us start the trend PROMOTING GOD’S WORD (PGW)

Love y’all

Stay blessed beautiful women of valour.

Xxx