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Proverbs 14:29-30 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.  A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
These verses in Proverbs are a timely message for us as we grapple with the insidious influence that the use of social media has on our present culture.

‘Patient’ translates two Hebrew words meaning ‘slow/long’ and ‘anger’, and ‘quick tempered’ also translates two words, meaning ‘short’ and ‘spirit/disposition’.  ‘Envy’ translates a word that relates to our base passions – Eugene Petersen translates it in ‘The Message’, ‘runaway passions’.

Is it not true that too much time spent on social media tends to bring out the aspects of our fallen nature that we are constantly trying to not let get the better of us?  I wonder if the Apostle Paul had this part of Scripture in mind when he wrote: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; … But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, PEACE, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL.” (Galatians 5:19-23); and “godliness with contentment is great gain. … People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” (1 Timothy 6:6).

We have probably all experienced the painful and harmful psychosomatic effects of a heart that is not at peace with itself and its circumstances.  Let us constantly seek God’s help and his grace to resist the influence of our culture to make us impatient, short-fused, discontented and envious of one another, and to experience in a real way the fruit of the Spirit as he does his sanctifying work in our daily lives.
– Bruce Christian