I was intrigued by an internet question that asked, “58% of people say this year they want to change one daily habit. What is it? Hint: it has nothing to do with working out.” Curious, I started scrolling through the responses. Before long, a clear winner emerged. Over and over again, people wrote: “I want to be on social media less.”
Which is impressive considering this collective confession was happening on social media. Apparently, the first step in using social media less is by announcing it publicly on social media. Doesn’t that fall within the very definition of irony? Posting on social media that your resolution is to spend less time on social media.
It made me laugh, but it also made me think. As funny as it is, it’s also deeply human. We name our longings right in the middle of the habits that frustrate us.
The Bible is full of this kind of irony.
The people who knew Scripture best didn’t recognize Jesus when he showed up. The crowd that waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna!” was shouting “Crucify him!” just days later. And then there’s the ultimate irony: God chose to save us through a cross. An instrument designed for death became our image of hope.
But biblical irony isn’t there to make us laugh. It exposes the distance between what we say we want and how we actually live. Jesus put it bluntly when speaking of people who “honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8). In other words, it’s possible to say all the right things and miss the point.
Social media offers us a platform to say one thing while doing another, but the truth is, we’ve done that long before social media ever existed. We’re so good at it, we don’t recognize the irony while we’re doing it!
From our Wesleyan perspective, this matters. John Wesley wasn’t very interested in abstract faith; his focus was on the practical. He believed that faith reveals itself far more in how we live rather than what we say.
The truth is, our ironies – including social media posts about spending less time on social media – should be pondered, not ridiculed. Because human irony is a shared confession. We’re tired. We see others saying one thing and doing another. And, if we’re honest, we see ourselves doing the exact same thing.
The good news is that God is fluent in irony. Life comes through death. Strength comes through weakness. Wisdom comes through listening. Peace comes through surrender. Those who wish to be first must think of themselves last. Isn’t it amazing how God works in the contradictory and absurd? Which can be us….if we’re honest.
Irony has a way of revealing the truth. But, if we’re paying attention, it can nudge us toward God’s grace—if we don’t scroll past it.
Prayer: Gracious God, you know how easily my words run ahead of my actions. You hear my good intentions, even when they’re spoken in the middle of distraction and noise. Meet me there—not with judgment, but with grace. Slow me down enough to recognize you at work in my life. And by your Spirit, gently form me into a person whose life reflects the prayers of my heart. Amen.
