Finding Spiritual Authenticity in the Selfie Age

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The last century brought us many dramatic philosophical shifts that forever changed how our modern culture functions and collectively thinks. And while none of us likes to acknowledge that marketing and advertising slogans can wield the kind of power to change society, the reality is that they do. Take for example the tagline, “Because I’m worth it,” which was coined in 1973 to help L’Oréal sell more hair color. What started as a simple, but highly emotive benefit statement turned into a societal stake in the ground by women of all backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic status.

And just so the men don’t feel left out of this nondiscriminatory wave called advertising, recall the beer campaign featuring “the most interesting man in the world,” who is portrayed as being the ultimate “man’s man” — brave, unconventional, and adored by women half his age from all over the world. In both of these campaigns, we are invited to see ourselves in their eyes. We are encouraged to imagine ourselves as strong, confident, attractive, and so successful that no one can resist wanting to be around us or become us. The ideal specimens of men and women are presented with the implied promise that any one of us can aspire to be equally ideal as they are and therefore as widely admired.

Today more than ever, we are bombarded on a daily basis by images of “ideal” people living enviable lives doing exciting things with beautiful companions in the most exotic of locations. The difference is they are not models or actors hawking hair color, beer, or some other packaged good. They are promoting themselves. And while there’s certainly money as a reward for the elite few who stumble upon viral success, most are displaying themselves simply for the attention. If yesterday’s status symbols were luxury watches and high-priced cars, today’s symbol is the number of social media followers. And the lure of “fame” is also nondiscriminatory. All types, backgrounds, and ages are sucked into this overwhelming tidal wave of self-promotion. But unlike pricey status symbols of the past, the path to social media prestige is financially accessible, making it all the more pervasive… and addictive.

Perhaps the most disheartening is the way this addiction has not only seeped into the Christian culture, it’s also been welcomed and even encouraged — perhaps unintentionally — by many of its perceived leaders and key influencers. Of course, it’s packaged and presented differently, but it’s still pushing the same promise in the name of Christ: obtain followers in order to widen your sphere of influence for the Kingdom of God. Maybe another way to put it is, “Share your joyful life so that others may see Jesus and want what He offers too.” It sounds good, right?

Now before anyone thinks I’m advocating for an abandonment of social media entirely or that I’m a hypocrite because I’m trying to build a social media following for this blog, it’s important for me to be clear with what the Holy Spirit has been drumming into my thick head and stubborn heart over the last few months. It’s critically important because I’m not in this alone. If you’re listening or reading right now, then you, my friend, are a vital part of this too. You’re not just a reader or a listener, you’re an accountability partner. You are my fellow traveler on this faith journey.

God made it clear to me almost two years ago that I should leave my corporate career and take a leap of faith to serve Him full time... with or without compensation. Gulp. “Ok, Lord, here goes,” I essentially said back. And as it is with learning anything new, from making a new recipe to forging a new ministry, I sought wisdom and practical guidance from just about anyone with integrity that seemed to have the credibility, experience, and values that aligned with the direction I thought God was calling me. I prayed and sought the Word for wisdom. I was being highly selective with who I listened to, and despite all of that, I kept hearing the same stomach-turning advice over and over: if you want to write in service to God, you must — as in, there is no other path — build a platform in social media. You must collect followers. Without followers, you will not have an audience. Without an audience, you will never get a publisher. Without followers, you won’t even be able to self-publish. In short, nothing will happen and very few people will be impacted as a result of your work. Oh, and by the way, you also can’t make a living that way.

Now aware of that disheartening pronouncement on my entire future as a writer, I put my novel development on hold for a while, committed to praying even more, and started learning how to professionally manage and optimize my social media efforts about four months ago. I can’t even tell you how many articles I’ve read or workshops, podcasts, and trainings I’ve listened to. It feels like a thousand, but I know it’s not quite that high.

And what are the results, you might ask? The answer: very few followers, but a tremendous amount of confirmation of what I don’t want to become. Prior to my self-induced training period, I used social media very rarely. I shared blog posts and an occasional personal update, but that was about it. I never used Pinterest to search for anything. I couldn’t find time to browse Instagram. But once I actually had to become familiar with them and what works to be “successful” on them as an author, the Holy Spirit began to whisper to me, “Where is my glory?” And as I discovered Christian blogger after blogger posting more photos of themselves than anything else and allowing their devotional content to be fragmented by gaudy and distracting external advertisers, the louder God’s voice became in my heart. “This platform isn’t focused on Me. There’s more noise here than my Word.”

The crazy thing is that most of the content on these sites was fairly good or useful information. Some of it was theologically sound and encouraging. But the Truth was being drowned out by an attempt to sell the author’s own brand, their enviable lifestyle, their various products, or ads and links to other people’s products. At this point, the Holy Spirit reminded me of John 2:13-16 where Jesus throws the money changers out of the temple. Of course, none of these Christian websites is a literal temple, but they are all promising people who access them an encounter with the Living God, are they not? Another verse came to my mind at this point. James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Yet in perusing hundreds of faith-based blogs, I found that more than 80 percent of the hyper-successful sites with thousands of followers also promoted their lifestyle and their own proprietary training modules for blogging success in addition to their Christian content, such as Bible studies, devotionals, etc. I’m not talking about authors promoting their own faith-focused books and spiritual growth workshops. No, the vast majority of them were enticing people to pay money to learn how to become a successful blogger just like them.

Now I understand that people have to earn a living. As someone who’s not on anyone’s payroll right now, I am painfully aware of that need. But what God is wrestling out with my soul is how should Christians consume and contribute to the social media machine? This is not just about my choice or the other faith writers and speakers out there. This is also about our readers and listeners. The wider Christian audience has a responsibility for helping to feed this machine. Yes, Paul admonishes us to be all things to all people and to be relevant to the cultures in which we are sharing Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). But where is the line between cultural relevancy for the sake of the Gospel and pure self-promotion for the sake of ourselves? Jesus calls us to be authentically His (Luke 10:27) and genuine in our glorification of Him in every area of our lives (Isaiah 43:7). Every area. Period.

I’m not declaring that all the Christian bloggers who allow external ads on their sites or sell secular training products are in the wrong. What God has led them to do is between them and Him. And I personally love some of their content. What I do know is that God doesn’t want me doing it. Microscopic, small, or large, whatever community God places me in or whatever following comes for my blog will have to be sparked by people’s attraction to Jesus and the life He offers, not because someone thought I was cool or my life is charming (which it is not anyway).

On the other hand, I am unequivocally concerned about the social media influencers out there who claim to be trumpeting Jesus but fill their social media feeds and websites with images and products that put themselves front and center. And I think all of us as readers and followers need to think about that as well. No one should be on a pedestal but Jesus, and I don’t want to be a part of putting them there.

Next week, mainly because I didn’t have enough space this week, I will share more about having authenticity in this selfie, social media-driven age. As long as it doesn’t spark addiction or compromise the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I believe Christians should participate at some level in social media because, sadly, that is where people are searching for truth and hope. And if people are looking for truth, then we have a responsibility to share Him with them where they are. Over the last four months, I noticed five bold lies that Satan seems to be using over and over through social media to corrode the perspectives of both Christians and non-believers alike. So please come back next week and continue this journey with me. In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts about social media and how Christians should interact online. Comment on my website or take it to social media. After all, that’s what it’s for! Either way, I’d love to hear from you on this subject and what you’ve discovered in your own times of soul wrestling.

Questions for Further Reflection

• Matthew 23:12 says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” How should this verse guide anything we do in social media, whether it be posting something ourselves or looking at content others have shared?
• Social media is a lot like food. There are healthy options and then there’s junk food. What might God be leading you to do with your social media habits to both glorify Him and to help others encounter Him?
• Read 2 Corinthians 3:18. How can you cultivate an appetite for glorifying God more than focusing on those in leadership or popular influencers? If you use social media in your job or for your business, what might God be calling you to adjust or change about your approach? If you want to read more, take a look at a new book called Influence: Building a Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me), by Kate Motaung and Shannon Popkin.

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