It's storytime guys!!!
So about three years ago, when I downloaded the Instagram app for real, I was excited. This new wave of high-quality pictures of people I admired, a sneak peek into their lives beyond the stage, the videos, everything was so new and so fresh.
I followed a couple of people, musicians, ministers, influencers, etc. There was this gospel singer that I really liked (I still do) she has an amazing voice and an excellent command of her craft. She was the first if not one of the first people I followed. All she posts were cute pictures with a memory verse or emojis as captions.
Cute, I thought.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks later I realized that that was all she ever does. Well, there were some times when she'd upload a video of herself singing. Her posts became boring to me. As much as I appreciated her beauty and the pictures, I wanted something else.
Like sis, can't you edify me with your caption?
Hasn't the Lord given you a word for the Body?
Didn't you experience a blackout in your home and while sitting in the darkness, realize how important it is for Christians to shine our light?
I don't know, give me something, sis!
I harbored these feelings for a while until the Holy Spirit convicted me. First and foremost, she is a singer, a gospel musician, a fact I am clearly aware of. She never claimed to be a poet, a preacher, or a wordsmith. What we all know her for is singing, so why am I expecting something that she has never claimed to be?
I do admit that I have a bias for people who are good with words. People who can articulate their dealings with God in a way that we can all learn. People who can write down deep thoughts and revelations from the Word. I like that stuff and I'm drawn to people with such giftings. But I failed to recognize that we are all different.
And honestly, just because someone on IG does a good job at making analogies from the Bible doesn't mean they have a relationship with Him. A high level of knowledge of the scriptures is not always proportional to spiritual maturity.
The ability to craft words and come up with such ideas is also a gift that some have the privilege of possessing.
Social media culture pushes us into a space where we feel every Bible study lesson or revelation is for public consumption. Before we sit to marinate on the Word, we would have shared it with everyone else and we forget that sometimes the Word is for us not for them.
We are obsessed with sounding deeper than being deep in real life. One’s social media is just a tiny fraction of their personality and life hence is usually an inaccurate indicator of anything.
There is an actual human being beyond the stage, ring lights, and highlights whose walk with God I am not privy to. Only God knows their true intentions, all I can do is discern.
Of course, we must share the good news to the ends of the earth but it doesn't always have to be in the way and manner I expect. A text from scripture is better than a tonne of grammar from a validation-seeking person. She is doing her part for the kingdom and so is the Instagram influencer on whose post I always comment with fire emojis.
None greater than the other. Just two children of God leveraging the diversity of God's gifts to advance His kingdom.
Now I'm at peace. If I follow a singer it's because I like his music, if he ends up a writer too, praise the Lord!!!
If I follow a preacher it's because of the undiluted gospel they preach, if I find out they have a couple of albums too, well the more the merrier right?
So yeah that's just a story I'd thought to share.
Let us let others be themselves and stop trying to fit them into unrealistic standards we have set for them in our heads.
I was supposed to post something different today but it's been a lot. Please say a prayer for me🤲🏾, hopefully, that post will be ready soon.
Byeeee. See you next week
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