Throughout history, we’ve seen how influential the ruling class can be over the middle and lower classes. Queen Elizabeth I influenced her court and the commoners to achieve extremely pale skin (hers from deadly lead-based makeup) and black teeth (hers from rot due to too much sugar). Alexandra, Princess of Wales, had a case of rheumatic fever, which left her with a limp, but she was so popular that some fans wore ill-fitting shoes to properly imitate the limp she walked with. Oh, and then there were the eye drops of the deadly belladonna (nightshade) to dilate their pupils. And this is just a drop in the bucket; most of these trends were harmful fads that were the standard of beauty at the time because someone in power was telling people, “This is how you should look because this is what I look like.” We might not have a king or queen influencing us to blacken our teeth as the beauty standard, but we certainly have influencers whose “job” is to tell us what to want, buy, dress, talk, act, think, believe, and the list goes on. We have a whole generation of people wanting to make it big on brand deals, and a never-ending list of celebrities. The world is full of voices we have to choose to listen to or tune out. I’ll be clear, though, especially to any teens reading, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a love for fashion or being trendy, but for all of us, the trouble begins when we allow those voices to be the most important in our lives, and the way of the world outweighs The Way.
When I was in middle school, Myspace was still popular, and the ranking of your friends on your profile was a big deal. When Facebook took over, the number of friends you had became the comparison point. Now, the number of Instagram or TikTok followers is the measure of your worth.
It all seems really bleak, doesn’t it? Measuring, rating, ranking, counting, comparing, never enough, never enough, never enough. Even ministries and churches can get wrapped up in online engagement. It’s such an important tool, getting information out quickly and efficiently, helping people check out your church before they would ever be comfortable enough to come in person. It’s amazing the doors that have been opened! I am not trying to completely trash social media and the internet, but when we tie our self-worth, or our ministries/churches' effectiveness, solely to numbers on a screen, we are missing the point! (Friends I don’t believe it’s about the number of people physically in our church on a Sunday, Wednesday, out reach event, missions trip, or the like either, because if even one gives their heart to Jesus or if even one is healed or if even one shows up to offer Praise to Jesus, every amount of effort is worth it.) If I am so focused on becoming the person I am following online, I am definitely not focused on becoming the One I am Following.
“All this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.” Daniel 9:13(b)-14
I pray for some patience as I use this scripture today. This spoke so loudly to me personally, and not even in relation to the topic of the blog, but I believe it fits here as well. First, if you heard our guest speaker, Eran Holt, recently speak on Daniel chapter 3, you will have heard some of the backstory of this passage; this coming Sunday, my husband, pastor Scott, will also be speaking on Daniel, and I have been reading the book in my own personal Bible time. For a very short backstory, Daniel is a Jew who was taken to live in Babylon among the best and the brightest. He withstood trials and tribulations and upheld the name of the Lord and not only had the favor of King Nebuchadnezzar, but also King Darius of Mede who later over took Babylon. Daniel was reading the words of Jeremiah and realized that their 70 years of captivity were coming to an end, and so Daniel was moved to a position of extreme humility, prayer, and fasting, acknowledging the sins of his people but begging the Lord to remember His promise.
Daniel is calling out his people and himself., too, Why haven’t they been giving God their attention? Why haven’t they been turning from their sinful ways? Their punishment is almost up and according to Daniel it doesn’t seem like they’ve learned their lesson and he’s worried about them!
It may sting, but I certainly need to hear this. Why am I not turning away from my sin and giving my attention to His truth? The ONLY truth by the way. I know we live in a world where you hear the phrase “my truth” thrown around, but when compared to the creator of the universe there’s no comparison. Why am I so quick to give my attention to the fleeting pleasures of this world over the everlasting relationship and approval of my heavenly Father? Why am I focusing on being a fan or a follower of man instead of Christ Jesus?
While social media can be a useful tool to reach the lost and communicate the message of Christ, it can also be a dangerous weapon for wolves in sheep’s clothing to deceive those who are looking for the truth. We are to have pastors as shepherds to guide our spiritual walks. I am so thankful for our pastors at Abundant Life Church and thankful for the pastors who helped raise me in the Word of God. But I am not a follower of those pastors; I am a follower of Jesus, as those particular pastors are followers of Jesus.
Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13, “What I mean is this: “One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
People aligned themselves with different Christian leaders, boasting in the wisdom of one over the other. Paul called it all out and reminded them that Christ was crucified for them, that they were baptized in Jesus’ name, and that he was just there to preach the gospel (vs 17).
I find the hardest part of avoiding temptation to follow the world over the Lord to be the noise. How often do we have quiet time? I know for myself I have to make it, and when I do have it I am so tempted to fill it with a podcast, TV, or music, or someone else’s thoughts. The discipline to keep quiet time quiet for the Lord and myself is something I still need to work on daily, but it will help me be a better follower of Jesus. I am reminded of Elijah in 1 Kings chapter 19, God brings Elijah to a mountain where there was a great wind which shattered the rocks, but the Lord wasn’t in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. Then a fire, but He wasn’t in the fire either, but He was in the gentle whisper that came after the fire. Elijah had to be quiet to hear Him, not filling every moment with noise. Maybe for you it looks different, maybe you have a great quiet time with the Lord, and maybe you don’t struggle at all with social media, but you find your identity in your role or job. What does it mean to you to be a follower of Jesus?
It is with all humility I write this today, I need this word as much as anyone else reading, it’s my desire that Jesus is glorified. He deserves our attention friends, He is righteous in everything He does, and I pray that as we move forward in this world we can continue to show the lost how being a follower of Jesus is the best choice you can make for your life!
In Christ,
Becca Drumheller
