SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE MODELS ~ Precious C Philip

We are in a society where many people are clamoring to be Christians, especially in Africa. Celebrities and public figures who are openly living lives that are purely in contradiction to the teachings of the Bible and the commandments of God are all professing to be Christians, purporting to know God, and giving the impression that they have a relationship with Jesus. 

So, many young believers/converts (people who newly accepted Jesus and gave up sinful living) are in confusion because they're still struggling to know their left from their right. They read the word of God and see a God who hates and abhors sin and commands His worshippers to have nothing to do with sin, immorality, iniquity and ungodliness. 

But when they look at the lives of those around them, the celebrities/public figures who not only profess to be Christians, but claim also to have been born again, they see people swimming in sin - celebrating immorality unashamedly. They visit their social media pages and all they see is a mixture of 'Christianity' with immorality and nudity (the things the Bible stands against). They seem to be saying, "You can follow Jesus and still live anyhow you want. You don't have to live how Jesus wants you to live. You can live how you want to live. Be your own lord! Jesus may have saved you as the Savior, but He shouldn't be your Lord." 

In one post, they're talking about Jesus, in another post, they're celebrating, advertising, promoting, and encouraging sexual immorality, adultery, cohabitation, sex before marriage, prostitution, the use of charms, promiscuity, nudity, worldliness, and the worship of Satan. So in all this seeming confusion and deceit, how can one spot a true Christian who has been genuinely born again? In order to follow the right people and have good role models in living a true Christian life?

Well, one effective advice I'll give you is to let the word of God be your all. Let it have the final say in your life. Let it be what you use to make all judgements. Let it be your principal yardstick for judging right and wrong. This means, once you look at the life of anyone (celebrity or not, pastor or not) and although they're speaking in tongues, praying fire prayers and quoting the Bible, they're not living out the Bible, they're not practicing it, they live contrary to the word of God, their lifestyle is a direct opposite of the lifestyle God commands His children in the Bible to live, YOU MUST NOT FOLLOW THEM! They have not been genuinely born again. They're merely religious Christians who the devil still has possession of and makes use of to hinder people from experiencing genuine salvation and from seeking God in truth.

Another potent advice is: befriend the Holy Spirit. Get close to the Holy Spirit. Communicate with Him in prayer. Talk to Him in prayer. Get to know who He is and how He works. This knowledge you can get from studying the word of God personally and from listening to sermons of genuine, Spirit-filled men of God who teach or have taught about the Holy Spirit.  When you know who the Holy Spirit is, what He can do in the life of those possessing Him or filled with Him, how He operates, what He can say, what grieves Him and what quenches His power, you'll be able to know when a professing Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit.

These two tips will help you and guide you in following the right people, especially on social media. You don't just follow anyone simply because they verbally confessed to have been born again or they claim to know God, to serve God, to worship Jesus, to love Jesus, or because they go to church. No! You take time to monitor, examine and scrutinize their lifestyle. You find out if they're living the lifestyle the Word of God commands the children of God to live and if they actually possess the Holy Spirit. 

You want to do this because whoever you're following and daily observing how they live and what they do, has influence on you. They influence you without your knowledge because you're what you WATCH, HEAR and LISTEN to. They form your beliefs, values, mindsets, lifestyle, and outlook on life without your conscious knowledge. So you want to make sure you're watching the right people, hearing the right things and listening to the right people, since most people can't do without social media nowadays. 

May God help you to successfully do this if it's in your heart to serve and worship God in Spirit and in truth, in Jesus' Name.

"Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22

Shalom.