As a Christian parent I don’t put my children on social media - this is why

I once listened to a children’s sermon about the power of our words and the harm they can cause. To illustrate his message, the pastor used a tube of toothpaste. He squeezed all of it out onto a tray, then asked one of the children to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Naturally, they couldn’t do it—once the toothpaste is out, it can’t be put back. His point being that the same is true of our words, once spoken they can’t be taken back. In today’s digital age, it seems the same holds true for what we share online—once something is posted, it’s nearly impossible to take it back. While some platforms like Snapchat automatically delete messages after a certain time (unless saved), one has to wonder: are these records ever truly gone?

I love the promise in Isaiah 1:18: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” This a powerful image of God’s grace and our redemption. No matter how deep our guilt or how dark our past, God chooses to remember our sins no more. He will only ever look at us through the lens of Christ and we will be pure in his sight. It’s a breathtaking truth—yet one that feels almost foreign to our human understanding in the context in which we live.

I try to help my children understand that, unlike the online world, where nothing is ever truly erased—their slate is eternally wiped clean through Christ’s work on the cross

In today’s world, nearly everything we say or do is recorded, sometimes without us even realising it. Ever talked about a product and then noticed it pop up in your social media feed moments later? It’s unsettling. But perhaps more concerning is ……