What Would Jesus Think of Your Instagram?
By Drenda Keesee
I have a BIG question for you today: What would Jesus think of your Instagram?
Now, imagine with me for a second…
If Jesus grabbed your phone and started looking at every one of your posts, comments, and DMs, is there anything you would want to change? Would you feel proud? Embarrassed? Ashamed?
I know it sounds like a ridiculous hypothetical, but it’s an important question! Someday when we stand in front of God, we will be accountable for every post, tweet, DM, and comment, and our intentions will be laid bare before Him.
It’s time for some REAL TALK…
God doesn’t care if you’re an Instagram model. He doesn’t care how many likes you get or how many followers you have—but He DOES care what you do with the influence He gives you.
Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV) tells us, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
How you use your social media is something you will be accountable for when you reach heaven.
Here are some great questions to consider BEFORE you post to your social media.
Did it point people to God?
When you imagine Jesus scrolling through your page—Him knowing the intentions behind every single photo—would He be pleased? Concerned? Saddened?
Attention can become an ADDICTION if we aren’t careful.
But I promise you, gaining people’s ATTENTION is not worth losing their RESPECT, or worse yet, yours.
Here are some good rules to practice on social media:
→ Know Your Worth!
In the culture, women run themselves ragged trying to be whomever society tells them to be. So many women stress themselves out trying to have the perfect bodies—and feel they need to prove it on social media—or by spending a fortune to have the most expensive accessories.
According to People magazine, the average woman will spend $15,000 on beauty products in her lifetime!
So many women don’t know their worth, so they let the culture tell them what they need to do to feel worthy. I lived that way for years, and it was exhausting. I was constantly trying to fit whatever the culture was telling me to be, and that definition was always changing.
When I realized I am not here to please the world—I am here to please God—it changed everything!
When you know who you are in Christ, your decisions will come from the inside, from the voice of the Holy Spirit, and you won’t be trying to get anyone’s approval, except God’s.
Proverbs 3:6 (ESV) tells us, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Let Him guide you in every decision, including what you post on social media.
Is there ever a great reason to post bikini photos or any photo that is purposed to flaunt your body?
In my personal opinion, the answer is no (see 1 Timothy 2:9). I think we have to ask ourselves why we want to post these types of photos, not to mention if they could stir up jealousy or lust in others.
The most beautiful women I know are the women of faith who love Jesus with all their hearts. Their beauty shines brighter than any filtered Instagram picture.
If you want more on getting back on track with God’s plan for your life, go HERE for my YouTube teaching on “Overcoming the Pressures of Life with God’s Word.”
→ Know your heart.
Ask yourself: What is the true goal of this picture?
Am I seeking to build my kingdom or God’s Kingdom?
If you’re not careful, you can make your image an idol in your life.
When you measure your identity by how many likes you have and what happens on your screen instead of by who God says you are, you are headed down a dangerous road.
We’re not here for people’s approval; we’re here for God’s approval.
If you feel like you’ve been getting your identity from people instead of from God, I want to strongly encourage you just to shut down your social media for a while.
Sound extreme?
The Bible says it’s better to cut off your arm than to sin. Put social media on pause, take a sabbatical from it, whatever you have to do to make sure your identity is coming from the right place.
→ Sharing God’s Love
As social media becomes a bigger part of the culture, it’s so important to see social media through our lens of faith: to remember that the rules don’t change when we get behind our computers.
Instead of posing for selfies, I want to encourage you to use your social media as an incredible tool to share the Good News of the Gospel with others and to encourage others to put the focus back on God.
We are called to be lights of God’s love in this world.
We are called to evangelize for our faith—to bring people’s attention back to God, and to glorify Him in everything we do.
Go HERE for some Bible verses on the important call of evangelism.
That call doesn’t stop when we push the power button on the computer or open our social apps on our phones.
I want the best for your life… and allowing social media to control who you are and what you do IS NOT IT!
I love you.
I’m for you.
Your Cheerleader,
~ Drenda
Listen in Now to Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
