Can you imagine if the government banned facebook to control what YOU have to say?

This is what has happened in Vietnam – the government has blocked facebook. ‘for security reasons and to fight against propagative activities that oppose the [Communist] Party and the government.’

This act of censorship shows us a form of persecution Christians in Vietnam face every day. The communist government seeks to control every aspect of life – from internet usage, to what people say, to where people go, to what people believe.

Christians are regularly denied basic freedoms, such as the freedom of speech, the freedom to meet together and of course freedom of religion.

The communist government doesn’t want you to know that persecution continues today. But as I met with believers in Vietnam when I was there in July, I heard that the authorities continue to target Christians for persecution.

So how would you respond if the Australian government shut down facebook to control what you have to say? Would your world fall apart? Would you complain? Would you fight back?

We have so much freedom in Australia, more freedom than many Christians around the world have to stand up and speak up for Christ. But how do we use our freedom? Do we use facebook to speak about the things that really matter in this life? Can anyone even tell you follow Jesus by your status updates or tweets? If facebook was shutdown, would we care more about the effect on our social life or that we had lost our freedom to speak about the Gospel?

I heard someone say recently that freedom is the greatest enemy of the church – it can lead to compromise, complacency and self-indulgence. Use your freedom to share the joy of life in Christ. What’s the worst that can happen? Someone might un-friend you on facebook? Remember that Jesus says, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)

There is a cost for living for Christ, but we gain an eternal treasure and reward – life in the kingdom of God, an eternal hope that can never perish spoil or fade!

So lift your voices (and get your fingers typing) to speak truth and love online, to talk about things that really matter. And use your freedom to remember our persecuted brothers and sisters whose voices are silenced and whose lives are cut short by those who hate Jesus.

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