The other day, I mentioned to my husband that I follow about 800 friends and influencers on Instagram. He was fairly shocked by the sizeable number—till he decided to check his feed. Turns out, the number of accounts he followed did not trail far behind.
Whether we realise it or not, the hundreds of voices we follow on social media are influencing us. Platforms like Instagram can encourage faith and even draw people to Christ. But do we recognise the subtle ways the voices we follow can form us? Today, headlines focus on the impact of AI on our lives. But for many people, social media remains a compulsive daily habit which shapes us over time.
There is no biblical mandate to give up social media (unless it is a step of obedience God is asking of you). Yet we need to use it in a way that is redemptive and Christ-honouring. How do we abide in the Vine while continuing to “follow” influencers? Here are four possible strategies.
Redeem Your Attention
How often have you needed to “check one quick thing” on your phone and ended up losing thirty minutes on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn? Unfortunately, I am intimately familiar with the scenario as I get lost in a digital world where influencers promote everything from soul care to skincare.
The challenge for us is to be discerning about whom we let in through the “gates” of our digital lives. As Christians, we need to be wise because every voice is vying for our attention—and, ultimately, our spiritual formation.
While we may follow Christian celebrities, are we fully aware that we are giving them permission—even authority—to speak into our lives? We become enamoured by entertaining sound bites rather than ploughing through Scripture and uncovering treasures for ourselves.
In our local churches, we begin to demand similar curated content that tickles our ears in neatly packaged sermons. But have we stopped to consider the mentoring and shepherding role our local pastors play in our lives, a role that an online theologian or influencer can never replace?
Protect Your Heart
As we consume influencers’s posts of pristine homes, luxurious vacations, organic meals, flawless bodies—even super-sized spirituality—a sense of inadequacy tends to grip our hearts. Scrolling social media is essentially a passive activity. But it is not neutral. Our defences are down, and our hearts are exposed to impossibly high standards of living.
As a Christian writer, I noticed this in my life as I grew increasingly envious of other people’s original Christian content. It often felt more creative than anything I had produced. As someone who journals through Scripture reading, I even became dissatisfied about my time with Jesus. I felt I was not as perfect as online influencers whose Bible journaling seemed more insightful and intelligent.
But each of us has a different race to run. Comparing myself to Christian influencers was becoming a burdensome hindrance in running my race (Heb. 12:1-2).
Before we browse through our feed, can we fix our gaze on the only one who can truly satisfy? Can we remind ourselves of who we are in Christ and our individual calling in him? It is only through the lens of the gospel we can view the digital world accurately.
Ground Yourself in Truth
My feed from influencers is primarily composed of Christian voices. Most of them are leading American Bible teachers, pastors, and podcasters with hundreds of thousands of followers. While they may not want the title themselves, many of them have become “Christian celebrities”—thanks to Instagram.
As followers, we unwittingly promote a culture that puts people on pedestals. However, the bigger the platform, the greater the potential to fall.
As “followers” of Christian celebrities, may we be so grounded in truth that even if a Christian celebrity falls, our faith will not falter. As Paul reprimands the Corinthians: For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?” He goes on to remind them (and us) that neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, “but only God who makes things grow” (1 Cor. 3:8).
Contend for the Faith
God calls us to contend for our faith (Jude 1:3). And we can do that best on our knees before God, reading his Word for ourselves, rather than through online mediators and digital doctrine.
Can we challenge ourselves to curate our feeds with content that builds us up in Jesus without eclipsing the role of the local church? If we are not selective about whom we follow, then the voices of the world will swamp us. In that cacophony of voices, may we guard our minds so we can hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.
The call is clear: engage with social media from a godly perspective and with kingdom-mindedness. But, more than that, God calls us to follow Jesus and become fishers of men who draw people to him—not to ourselves (Matt. 4:19, John 12:32).
