Follow God, Not People
In the age of social media, influencers, and Tiktok. It can be easy to follow people and their idea of God.
Many people will use God’s word to fit their own agenda or bend his word to benefit their own life. While there may be people of God that we follow and gain inspiration from. It’s important that we aren’t looking to them to replace the Bible and God’s truth.
I found myself falling into this a few months ago. I follow may Christian influencers on Instagram and TikTok. But noticed that some of them were still doing or posting things that I know longer do or that God ask me to let go of. For example, some Christian influencers I follow still post things that God would deem as immodest. I found myself questioning God and thinking “well if they follow god and do it then I can too” this is a slippery slope to go down. This is viewing people as God’s truth and not God himself.
You have to understand that everyone is on a separate walk with God. You may follow people that haven’t yet worked on things that God has already worked on in you. Like for me it was modesty. God had already brought me through my journey with modesty and letting go of world ways. God reveals things to people in his own time. Don’t let people pull you back into something that God has already brought you through. You already learned the lesson.
This doesn’t mean that those people you follow aren’t Christians. It may not be their time to go on that journey. Or maybe God is trying to work with them on something and they are ignoring that conviction. Whatever the case may be, it’s their walk with God and not yours.
Your walk is personal. God knows exactly what we need when we need it. Don’t become discouraged when your walk looks different than others. He gave you that struggle for a reason.
Following people instead of God can also become troublesome when you put people on a pedestal. Having a “Godlike” view of someone can leave you vulnerable when they make mistakes. We are human, not God. Even the best of people can still fall into temptation and troubles. Remember that no one is immune to sin.
Acts 5:29, Peter tells the High Priest, “We must obey God rather than men.”
This is why Christianity can get a bad rap. People view Christianity as the people, and not God. Christians are never going to be perfect. If you place your faith in people instead of God, you will be let down every time. As humans we make mistakes, and we can misrepresent God to people without knowing it.
We can avoid this by knowing Gods word and having an intimate relationship with him. That is when we truly know God. Friends, family, and community are wonderful things to have, but make sure you know where your truth is coming from. And when you encourage others, make sure you’re encouraging them to follow God and not you. You’re just the messenger, God can do the rest.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
The Bible says we must trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. Lean NOT on your own understand. He doesn’t say lean on your understanding, or others understanding. He calls us to trust and lean on him. People can hurt you and lead you astray, but Gods word never will.
