I make the joke that my two favorite Jesus’ in the Bible is the Jesus that goes away from his friends to have alone time with God and the Jesus that destroyed the money lenders in the temple. The first Jesus, because I value alone time (especially with God) more than anything. I love the second example of Jesus because it shows that passion is okay if rightly directed and I can be problematically passionate so I need the example Jesus sets and I need to learn how to harness that passion for good.

One of the things I’m passionate about is Christ and helping others encounter Him for who He truly is - not who we’ve made Him to be, because plot twist - those can be very different. I’m thankful that I’m a part of a church that exemplifies Christ through gracious but challenging community, sound scriptural teaching, and the power of the Holy Spirit. I understand that most of what I’m about to say requires those things as a prerequisite for understanding what I’m about to say.

If you’re not familiar with the story about Jesus and the money lenders, but essentially the Jewish leaders had turned the Temple (the place where God dwelled) into a place to make money, creating this sort of sacrificial-salvation-money-making scheme. And Jesus is rightfully angry, because selling people lies isn’t okay. He is the only way - no one else.

Now because nothing is new - this idea of buying your way into salvation, or striving, or chasing after anything other than Jesus has infiltrated the history of Christendom. It was a huge part of the horrific Crusades and played a huge part in Middle-Ages Catholicism but lest you think Protestants in America are saved from this horrible tendency - let me tell you, we aren’t.

Now I know what I’m about to say is a little different. It’s not exactly the same thing as what they money lenders were doing in Jerusalem and I’m definitely not Jesus. But I do think He’s made me passionate and with a voice and this is one of the lies I think Christians fall for that both infuriates and breaks my heart.

There’s this HUGE trend on social media that aspects of your relationship with Christ need to be bought. Many Christian “influencers” are selling products designed to enhance your relationship with Christ and while I’m sure they are helpful tools - it breaks my heart because the things they are selling to you are available for free in the Bible and instead of pointing you to Scripture - they spend their time selling their product.

Let me be clear, I am sure they mean well. I am sure it is their desire to see people encounter God in meaningful ways. I have no doubt they want to see people set free and living in God’s best. And as someone who’s definitely purchased some of the products out there I can tell you that some are really helpful.

For example, I’m a huge fan of allgoodthingscollective’s Daily Remain tool for engaging in Scripture. I use it almost daily and the way it separates different areas has really helped me dig into God’s word. BUT that is by no means the only way I can encounter God. In fact - I don’t even need a pen and paper. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a huge advocate of the reading of Scripture in large sections, allowing the words to transform you and the Spirit to speak through listening since that’s how the majority of the early Church would have experienced Scripture, being an orally based culture, etc. So I know, I don’t need the Daily Remain and I know I don’t need She Reads Truth or any other product that will help me encounter the Bible - because I really just need to carve out the time to spend time reading my Bible. I need to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate the words and allow Him to speak and honestly some of my most impactful Scripture reading moments haven’t been a result of the Daily Remain or anything else - they came from me knowing I needed to read my Bible so I carved out thirty minutes and asked God to speak - and not surprisingly - He showed up. Big time.

But one of the areas that really breaks my heart is with the super popular influencers. The ones who look like models even when they’re #keepingitreal. I’m not blaming them for understanding and taking advantage of the Insta algorithm, their digital market, and what society as a whole wants today. It is by no means their fault that we live in a world saturated by idealistic images, perfectly curated feeds, and presets galore. This is the world we are in and if we want to make an impact - we do have to be a light. We have to understand what we’re working with so we can subvert culture with the Gospel. So I commend them for understanding life for the average millennial woman. But my heart breaks when I see women who mean well teaching what I like to call the 80% Gospel. Because while I could read their books, take their online classes and probably learn a lot - the crux of the Gospel is a relationship with Jesus. So when I’m going to these women and their products rather than the living Word of God, I’m missing out. It’s like any relationship. We can feel like we know someone through stories about them that other people tell. We may even feel like we know them super well - because our friends can tell some amazing, authentic and raw stories, but until we actually encounter this person we’ll never really know them. And to me - that’s what it feels like is being sold today - a glimpse of Jesus under the umbrella of self-love, self-help, empowering women, helping you breakthrough in your dating life, owning your life, etc.

Again - I am almost 99% positive this isn’t their intention. At all. They see the digital world as their area of influence and they want to demonstrate Christ and I have NO DOUBT they encounter Him daily in their own lives. You can see it in their products. They’re full of truth. But they aren’t Christ. And I just feel like we’re in this weird limbo world where young Christians are drawn by events, products, and distinguishable moments with Jesus rather than encountering Him in the everyday moments of our lives. We do not need to spend over $200 on courses on Biblical dating. We do not need to teach people how to grow their IG following so they can live their dreams. We need to become a generation so incredibly in love with Jesus that we die to self for Him. We need to become a generation that reclaims Scripture as our barometer. We need to become a generation that takes back our anxiety against FOMO, comparisons, and the lie that the more you hustle the holier you are - and live in the truth and freedom that Christ bought on the Cross for us.

This isn’t to say, you shouldn’t consume information from others. I have been so blessed by some of the products that Christian women have created. I’m just saying - please don’t allow it to replace your daily encounter with Jesus. Don’t spend hours scrolling on Insta reading clever captions and thinking - Amen! Carve out time to be still before Christ or meditate on His word. Carve out time to worship Him wholly.

Also - Christ called us into community. So if you are struggling with singleness or how to date in a way that honors God or whatever else you may be working through - grab an older woman at Church. It’s a lot cheaper than $250 and probably more impactful. I am a huge advocate of community. It has seen me through so many challenging seasons and has brought joy I could never imagine. it’s also been challenging and hard and messy. It’s a lot easier to interact digitally but please don’t. Don’t let petty drama or uncomfortableness stop you from engaging with the body of Christ. It is worth every hard conversation (like when your friends hurt you and you work through forgiveness), every silly and awkward conversation (like when you voice text a friend your first time using a menstrual cup), and every joy-filled conversation (like when you hike a mountain and pray with friends because God’s majesty is just so overwhelming). The Church is a body, can I encourage you to engage with it more than you engage with your phone?

So there you have it folks - my incredibly tamed version of my IG rant. I hope this one is both gracious and thought-provoking. May we be people who watch what we consume, encounter God daily, and engage in community.