I shifted away from Christian content on social media and here’s why…
“FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD”
I am a devout Christian and very proud of being a Christ follower. All of my platforms, I shared Christian messages and my blog consisted of Christian content. I loved getting prayer requests and people reaching out to me for guidance and direction because it gave God the glory. I will say that my platforms shifted for many reasons. Even though it was my niche for years and I had many people following me on these platforms, I had to revamp. I had a lot of people message me questioning my decision and I wanted to write this blog post to explain why.
As a Christian, you’re still human you just believe in the Bible and you hold dear its teachings. You strive but you still make mistakes, you still struggle with sin, and you still hurt those around you even unintentionally. Being Christian doesn’t mean that you get it right every time. No one achieves perfection. A lot of people that are fellow Christians have legalistic standards as to what a true Christian looks like or how they behave. They hold you to this standard and if you deviate from their standards (most of them uninformed misinterpretations of the word or man-made standards) they automatically assume you are backslid or not right with God.
The individuals who aren’t Christian also hold you to a standard. I’ve had many family members or friends react surprised with some of the things I say. Even if I’m not sinning when I say certain things, they’ll say, “I thought you were Christian.” My response to educate them is to tell them about the Bible when Jesus flipped the tables in anger at the temple, he was angry and this was not considered a sin. The scripture says in Ephesians 4:26 - Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Just because we are Christian doesn’t mean we are a doormat or should endure disrespect from others. It certainly doesn’t mean we remain in toxic situations.
“BUT GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.”
It’s not that I couldn’t handle the pressures of the standards of others on me. It was just a clear intolerance from my fellow Christians to brand myself a Christian Influencer. Online influencing or content creators on social media is typically and ultimately for monetary gain. I have no interest in collecting funds for my walk with God or my platforms. If other Christians do that, that’s between them and God and maybe that’s God’s plans for their lives. In selecting my new niche that I started a month ago, I share things about motherhood, relationships, cooking, and general womanhood lifestyle from my own human perspective and experience. I have so much to share and offer to my followers that I just couldn’t narrow it down to one thing in particular and I fight with the algorithms every day about it. Meaning I haven’t gained much traction but consistency breeds results so I’m going to continue to take notes and adjust and tweak until I find myself more successful.
I am still a Christian, in fact I’m closer to understanding God now than ever before. Including the era of my life where I served at a pentecostal church for 5 years and followed every single rule they had, and I experienced so many hurtful experiences that I refuse to blame on God just more-so broken relationships with the individuals that caused the division. I love God. I strive for excellence and I pray daily. He’s always been a major part of my life and my choices. I know more importantly He loves me.
“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”
I think we can all learn to be less judgmental about each other in general. Yes, we need to test others “in the spirit” but I’ve never personally witnessed anyone accepting Christ by an individual being forceful, legalistic, judgmental or harsh. I’ve seen more people come to Christ because Christ put it in their heart. We as Christians can be supporting, loving, leading by example, tolerant, patient and kind, before during and after someone comes to Christ and just treat each other with the same grace that God has for us.
So for those who judge me by my clothing, make up, lifestyle choices - I am doing amazing and I do my best in my relationship and that’s between me and God. If you pray for me and my family I am thankful and could use all the prayers as I believe there’s power in prayer.
For those who stuck around as I transitioned my platforms to my new niche I am grateful and I hope that I inspire you in others ways in life.
