Influencer: Finding Truths In the Trends

Being a Christian influencer is difficult. The explosion of social media has created lots of opportunities for exposure and careers, but also compromise and hubris. There is great pressure to follow the latest trends and portray only our most “perfect” selves to others. But is this necessary? This month, we studied the devotional “Influencer: Finding Truths In the Trends” by Andrena Sawyer of the Minority Christian Women Entrepreneurs Network. This devotional explores how to be an influencer in this society while maintaining Godly character.

The full devotional can be found here on the YouVersion app or bible.com.

Day 1: Avoiding the Performance Trap

Scriptures: Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Whether you are a professional influencer or not, it is natural to be image-conscious. Almost all of our social inputs emphasize it. It’s easy to fall into a trap of showing your “representative” and not the real you at all times. Guess what? God knows the real you, and he doesn’t require you to perform for him in order to be considered adequate. It is said that God doesn’t just call the qualified, He qualifies the call. Romans says He already predestined, called, justified, and glorified you!

Day 2: Growing Admiration

Scriptures: John 6:14-15; Matthew 16:24-26

Being an influencer has gone from a very stringent set of accomplishments to being synonymous with a certain number of followers on social media. But what does God say? Numbers or not, Christian influencers should also seek to meet the standard set by God. When you’ve been given a purpose, we must be careful not to exalt ourselves above it. The privilege of influence comes with the mandate of humility.

Day 3: The Ultimate Role Model

Scriptures: Philippians 2:4-8; John 13:1-17

As Christian influencers, we look to Jesus as our point of reference, not only for how we live, but how we work. Jesus is the ultimate role model in that he served with humility and did not exploit his immeasurable power for his own benefit. There is a prevailing trend that people see themselves as gods unto themselves with no accountability. This breeds selfishness on a surface level, and on a broader scale, things like unrest and hate. Christ, even being the Son of God, God in human flesh, does not model an idea that our power is ours to do what we will. It comes with great responsibility.

No matter how great or small your sphere of influence is, you have the responsibility to operate with character, humility, and respect for the power vested in you. Whether it be at home, school, work, or the worldwide web, we must steward our gifts with reverence to the one who gave them and trust Him to elevate us. Then, and only then, does God get the glory.

Who is influencing YOU? Whose influence is reflected in what you do? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

For more devotional recaps like this visit our Study With Mack page.