We have an opportunity during this time of lockdown to allow God to do a deep work of integrity in us — that we would be the same people in our homes that we portray outside of our homes. And we also have an opportunity to show integrity with the way we are engaging in social media.

“When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29, ESV).

Ouch! What an indictment on the scribes. I bet they didn’t put that reference on their resumes. A teacher has got to have authority. There in lies the difference between Jesus and the scribes. And the crowds knew it. Jesus had authority. They didn’t. Why? Surely they were educated. Surely they knew the Scriptures. Surely they had the lingo.

But brains, literacy and jargon are not what the world is looking for. And the sad truth is that many Christians are guilty of thinking that a sharp mind, a good understanding of the Bible and a working knowledge of a few Christian idioms qualify them to have something to say. Not so. Just ask the crowds. They want something more. Something substantial. And it comes only through one thing. One word. One indispensable quality. Integrity. That’s the currency the world buys. Without it a Christian is impoverished with nothing more than a few pennies of theological mumbo jumbo. But integrity is like solid gold. Nobody cares how much Bible you know. They want to know if Jesus really does change a person for the better? Does he? Has he changed you?

Lectures without love. Commitment without compassion. Actions without authenticity. That describes a scribe. And it’s sadly what describes many things I’m seeing online these days in the name of Jesus. Christians can sometimes forward memes or sound bites or articles that are not filled with love, compassion or even authenticity. 

Can I appeal to each of us to make sure we’re passing along things that do not breed fear or misinformation or inappropriate humor or Coronavirus inaccuracies. If it’s not full of love, compassion, authenticity, faith or Jesus, don’t promote it. Every time we do, we lose our authority as Christians. We trade our integrity for a temporary gain in the form of online “likes” or attention. And in the long run we will have nothing to say because there will be no one who’ll listen.