Jesus & Social Media Influencers

I’ve been thinking about social media influencers. As easy as it is to make fun of the entire idea you’ve got to hand it to them. They have found a way to make a bunch of money for doing nothing but selling you stuff you don’t need by convincing you they aren’t selling you anything. Who’s laughing now?

It is easy to scroll through their perfectly curated Instagram feed and daydream about the lives they seem to lead. It all looks so glamorous. However, I have seen more and more influencers begin to open up about how they are hitting a wall and burning out. They are finally being honest about how their social media feeds don’t reflect their real lives. Some are beginning to use their platforms to share about how they are racked with anxiety and depression because they are exhausted from trying to please their followers.

I am beginning to realize that these “influencers” are actually influenced by us, the consumer. Our clicks and likes are what dictate what they will post. How they will try to sell themselves. They are continually having to discover how the new algorithms work and how to keep our attention. With that in view, I can see why some of them have hit a wall and signed off, no matter how much money they were making.

They are done with pleasing the crowds.

Good thing Jesus is not a social media influencer. That is one reason why I find him so wonderful and interesting. One of my favorite Jesus stories is found in John 6.

Jesus was beginning to gain some followers (real humans, not bots). He had just feed 5,000 people with a few fish and a few loaves of bread. People were amazed, as they should have been. As people were stuffing their faces with free fish sandwiches Jesus gave them the old Irish goodbye (My wife has masted this characteristic of Jesus, it is her favorite party trick and spiritual practice).

Next, we find Jesus taking a nice evening stroll on the sea of Galilee. Not next to, literally on the sea of Galilee. The crowd eventually found him the next day on the other side of the sea.

Once the crowd had assembled Jesus called them out. He knew they weren’t crowding around him because he had performed a miracle. No, they just wanted some more free food (It must have been a group of young adults).

Then he began to preach… a very odd sermon.

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

Weird, right?

Skip down a few lines.

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me to me shall not be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Hmm, ok. But it has been a few hours and my tummy is starting to rumble, Jesus.

Keep going.

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

OK, Jesus. Knock it off. This is getting creepy.

“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Nope. No. No way. Jesus, I told you I am a vegan. Well, yesterday I was a pescatarian, thanks for the free fish sandwich btw. But really. No, Jesus, you have crossed the line.

Then John writes,

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is hard teaching; who can listen to it?’”

Skim down a few more lines…

“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”

Boom. Jesus was unfollowed!

The crowds were and still are fickle. When they don’t get what they want they have no problem looking somewhere else for their next quick fix. But remember, Jesus is not a social media influencer.

He was not swayed by the surface-level desires of the crowd.

Jesus was OK with people walking away.

I am not OK with people walking away. It hurts. I lose sleep over it. It makes me question my other relationships. Will that person leave too? Oh no!  Did what I said on Sunday offend this person?

I am too concerned with the crowds. It is easy to let the crowds dictate what I say or do next. I didn’t get into this pastor gig to be a social media influencer but sometimes I feel like that is what I am supposed to do to be successful, to be relevant, to earn my keep.

Look, I have done lots of therapy. I am pretty good at stopping these thoughts. I know they are lies. But they still creep in from time to time. And I am sure they do for you as well.

Let’s keep reading. This next part may be my favorite Jesus moment.

Jesus looks to his twelve disciples that are left, the OGs. I wonder, were they the only ones left? Imagine that… 5,000 to twelve in 24 hours. Heartbreaking.

Then Jesus looked to the twelve and said,

“Do you want to go away as well?”

WHAT?!!!

Jesus didn’t chase down the crowd. He didn’t one-up himself with a bigger miracle. He didn’t try to convince anyone to stay. Rather, he looked at the ones who were left and gave them an out.

I imagine him pointing to the settling dust from the 5,000 shuffling pairs of feet that had just abandoned him as he asked them that question. It’s like he knew what he said was hard to grasp. It’s like he knew that his words sounded crazy. It’s like he knew he was offending people. But he didn’t care. He didn’t apologize. He didn’t backpedal. He didn’t say, “What I really meant was (fill in the blank)”.

He wasn’t a jerk about it.

He wasn’t being a provocateur.

He was just being honest.

Then Peter speaks up. I imagine him looking at the other eleven, very annoyed.

“Well fine I guess I’ll speak for all of us.”

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed that you are the Holy one of God.”

The twelve realized that they didn’t need a social media influencer. They didn’t need to go with the crowd. They needed something, someone, who was constant and confident. They realized they had everything they ever needed right in front of them in the person of Jesus, the Holy One of God.

I need to be reminded of this daily. It’s not my job to gather and entertain the crowds. It’s not my job to make anyone stay. It’s not my job to please people. I don’t need the praise and approval of the crowds.

Easier said than done, right?

I can’t believe I am about to say this, but I want to be like Peter. I want to embrace his response to Jesus.

“Lord, to whom shall we go?”

I want to live my life in a way that invites other people to wrestle with that questions as well.

I think we are all tired of the crowds. Let the crowds go. Jesus did. 

Grace and peace ‘till we rise in glory.