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By Reverend Nicholas Hanges – Foundation Church, Spencer
Over the past decade, the term “influencer” has risen to the forefront of our culture. With nearly half of the world’s population on social media, influencers have a huge impact. People are looking for influencers to help them make daily decisions. Advertising brands love social media influencers because they create trends and guide their followers to buy their products. Alas, most “influences” are for financial gain and power. TikTok influencers like Charli D’Amelio earn over $17.5 million a year. We truly are an age influenced by social media. We have to be careful not to be caught off guard in the middle of it all. There is a grave danger in keeping our attention focused on the empty influences of this world when God longs for our attention to be on His purposes.
The Bible foretold the evil progression of our societal influences. They are pleasing to our flesh in order to distract us from the influence of Christ. Adam and Eve were essentially selfish and took a bite out of the forbidden fruit rather than caring about all that God had already given them. They wanted more. They wanted more for themselves. Humanity has not changed much.
2 Timothy 3:2 says that in the last (these) days hard times will come and people will be selfish. It is not difficult to see this reality all around us. We have become influencers of our own desires rather than God’s. It will be our death.
The good news is that God has not left us to our own destruction. We have the Bible. Hebrews 4:12 states that “the Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerns thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The Bible reveals our hearts and provides a way to convert our fallen desires into godly desires that bear fruit. We can go from worldly influencers to influencers for Christ. Only the Spirit of God can transform the selfish motive of needing power and approval from others. Instead, we can walk in our approval of God that Jesus died for us to have. By loving others above ourselves, we experience the fulfillment that only Christ can provide. There is no greater satisfaction than knowing that you have influenced someone else to salvation for eternity. This is where our treasure truly lies.
In everything you do, seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) and live your life as an influencer for Jesus. The return is far greater than the highest TikTok salary or YouTube commission. I urge you to become an influencer for the kingdom of God.
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