Following Jesus in a World Obsessed with Followers
- Jack Selcher
- Nov 1, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 29
Summary
While the world values popularity, God values faithfulness. True followers of Jesus obey Him wholeheartedly, live with integrity, reject evil, avoid sin, and love what is good. Wisdom is shown not through influence or numbers but through committed obedience to God’s ways, gracious speech, and lives that reflect Christ, preparing believers to give an account of their faithfulness before Him.
On September 4, 2023, Khaby Lame had 161.9 million followers on TikTok, Charli D’Amelio had 151.1 million, and Bella Poarch had 92.8 million.1
On September 16, 2023, Christiano Ronaldo had 163 million Facebook followers, Mr. Bean had 136 million, and Shakira had 122 million.2
On September 20, 2023, Christiano Ronaldo had 604 million Instagram followers, Lionel Messi had 486 million, and Selena Gomez had 429 million.3
It is harder to determine how many followers God has. Some are fair-weather followers. Many are followers by name only. Wise people follow God, no matter what.
What It Means to Follow Jesus
· Living as we should and following Him with all our heart and soul (1 Kings 2:14).
· Obeying God’s decrees and commands (1 Kings 3:14).
· Guarding our behavior (1 Kings 8:25).
· Living with integrity and godliness (1 Kings 9:4).
· Walking in God’s paths (Psalm 81:13).
· Fishing for people (Matthew 4:19).
· Giving up our way (Mark 8:34).
· Being completely available to Jesus (Luke 9:23).
· Walking in the light that leads to life (John 8:12).
· Listening to Jesus’ voice (John 10:27).
· Serving Jesus (John 12:26).
Faithfulness Matters More Than Influence
At the judgment seat of Christ, we Christians will give an account of our lives. How many social media followers we have won’t matter.
It’s not how many followed us that will count but how faithfully we followed Jesus and managed the resources God entrusted to us (1 Corinthians 4:2). How many imitate us as we followed Jesus also matters (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Wisdom in Proverbs--Part Five describes four characteristics of wise people. They follow God, they hate evil, they avoid sin, and they love good.
Wise People Follow the Lord
Wise people have integrity and follow the way of the LORD (Proverbs 10:29, 28:5). With many potential paths, they stay on the right path (Proverbs 14:2, 15:21), the straight road (Proverbs 21:8).
They are not lukewarm. They pursue godliness like a lion pursues a gazelle (Proverbs 15:9).
They obey God (Proverbs 19:16). Their plans succeed because they commit their actions to the LORD (Proverbs 16:3).
Wise People Hate Evil
Humans naturally love and hate the wrong things. They hate what limits or opposes their self-will to which they are unknowingly slaves.
They love their imagined independence and freedom. The gospel is the Emancipation Proclamation from their slavery, but they hate it because it threatens their way of life.
Wise people hate un-Jesus-like evil, pride, arrogance, corruption, perverse speech, lies, and injustice (Proverbs 8:13, 13:5, 29:27). They hate what Jesus hates.
Wise People Avoid Sin
Operating in our pride-driven default foolish gear, we naturally throw out the welcome mat to sin. We seek its pleasures without counting its long-term costs.
By contrast, wise people avoid haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions (21:4). One of the ways they avoid sin is by not talking too much (Proverbs 10:19). They search for good and find favor (Proverbs 11:27).
Wise People Love Good
Wise people love a pure heart and gracious speech (Proverbs 22:11). They love what Jesus loves. He said, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8 NLT).
God loves gracious speech. “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT). “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone” (Colossians 4:6 NLT). See additional characteristics of wise people.
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