If a person is a Christian living a Christ-like life, should they speak hateful words towards another? After all, In 1 John 4:11, it states:

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

Later in verse 20, this is taken a step farther to state:

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

So the question arises, how does one show love towards others. More specifically, when using social media or when speaking in public, how do you stay Christ-like in what you do?

One thing you should not do is take the tact of being hateful towards another. Just because another person posts something counter to your own thoughts or beliefs does not provide a reason to spew hateful messages or posts towards them. Too many Christians are quick to call names and insult others that post something counter to their own opinions. Such insults and name calling are hard to align with the love that the Bible indicates should be shown towards others.

As mentioned before, the scriptures don’t say show love to those that agree with you, but show it towards your all others. We are all bothers and sisters in this world. The moment you show any level of hatred towards others, then you show that you don’t love God. It doesn’t matter if you are the President of the greatest nation on the planet, or someone nobody knows, you need to love others as God loves us.

Responding on Social Media

If you go to 1 Peter 2 verse 23, then you come across one of the best verses to use as a guideline for posting on social media:

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

In short, Christ did not retaliate or attack those that attacked him. He put up with the insults and moved on. He instead took the high road.