I’m guessing that most of you know who an “influencer” is in the world of social media. In case you aren’t familiar with this type of person, they have the ability to shape the opinions, behaviors or decisions of others, most often through social media. They typically build a dedicated audience and can significantly impact consumer choices.
I’ll be honest…I have a really hard time believing most of what they say. Why? Because if you watch them closely, their absolute favorite product seems to change…sometimes weekly. Let me give you an example. A woman will say that a certain product for your face is one that she just loves and what a life-changing effect it has had on her skin…only to say the next week that there is a totally different product that she loves and of course has also had a positive impact on her skin. Then, of course, they always have a discount code that they’ve exclusively been given to share with you if you make the purchase right away. I’ve come to realize that if some of these influencers actually used all the products which they so urgently push on consumers…it would take them most of the morning just to get their face routine done!
I realize that this is how the influencers make their money…by making you believe that your life will be SO much better if you just click on that link and use this amazing product. For them to make money, you need to want what they are pushing…so they want to do all they can to get you to make that decision to “click”. I hate to be the one to break the news to you…but many of those influencers really don’t care about you and how glowing your skin could be…they just want you to desire to be and look like them…hoping you will “click”. We used to deal with high-pressure salespeople in stores…now they enter our homes through social media.
I was thinking about this last week, when I read Galatians 1:24 and it seemed to jump off the page at me, “And they praised God because of me”. Paul was reminding the people of his past…how he had persecuted Christians and tried to destroy the church of God. But then God met him where he was and cleansed him of his sins and as a result, Paul made a 180 degree change in his life. As a result, the people praised God because of the miraculous work He had done in and through Paul.
Talk about being an influencer! Paul was a walking sign board for His heavenly Father. He was living proof that he served an all-powerful…all-knowing God who could forgive and save the worst of the worst. He was a testimony to the fact that no one is beyond God’s reach. Paul wasn’t interested in having the people praise him…He wanted them to put their eyes on the One who had changed his life.
So, I then had to ask myself what kind of an influencer am I? Do I go through life just doing and saying things which will only benefit me? Do I really care about those who I encounter…or do I have an ulterior motive to bring attention to myself? I have wrestled with these questions ever since reading the verse in Galatians.
As I contemplated this, a friend of mine sent me an excerpt from a sermon on YouTube where the minister said our purpose for each day should be to make Jesus look good. What a wonderful goal to have as we go through our day. As a result of this, I’ve been much more intentional as I’ve interacted with people to keep this thought at the forefront of my mind…doing all I can to make Jesus look good. I know I haven’t always been successful…but I think it is a good goal to have every day.
What about you? What kind of an influencer are you as you go throughout your day? You may not realize it…but I’m confident that people are watching you and will either be influenced for good…or for bad. So, I urge you to join me as we keep our focus on Jesus…making sure we do all we can to make Him look good. Oh, how wonderful it would be if we could say, “And they praised God because of me”!
No comments:
Post a Comment