“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” -Matthew 7:21-24
We live in a culture of instant gratification, instant celebrity-status, and a growing desire to be known and seen. At any given moment, an ordinary someone from Kentucky becomes a megastar, hundreds of people launch a self-named business, or there's some new fad to follow. The world and most people in it are screaming "I want to be known! I want to be seen!"
We take this to the extremes of posting normal everyday things like what we had for lunch or that bathroom selfie. Let me get real, no one cares what you had for lunch and taking pictures in the bathroom is just kind of weird. We've grown to new heights of vanity that really is a façade for our desire to be known and seen.
I can already hear your eyes rolling and your defenses firing. But here me out.
When we start doing things for the sake of being seen or known or 'followed', we move from seeking to please an audience of One to seeking to impress people who we often don't even know. The problem with that is often we're building our platform or identity on the praise of others rather than the delight of One.
If my platform is built on the praise of others what happens when that praise begins to fade? What happens when I'm no longer relevant? Or if FaceBook crashes one day (it happened to the Vine)? Then my platform and what I've built will go blowing in the wind with those things.
But what happens when I build my life on God's foundation? On His word? If people leave, praises fade, or technology changes, my foundation will not be moved. I will be built on Him.
Dear friend, let me tell you, I've built my foundation on all the wrong things and lies. And when you're doing it, you often don't even realize it's happening. Maybe you're just following the culture or trends. Maybe you're just doing what everyone else is doing. If you're not being intentional to pave your own path or build your own house, you will get swept away in the culture only to find one day that it's not who you are or what you want. Don't follow what everyone else is doing because it's the trend...instead make your own trend of beautiful.
Be yourself. Be brave. Be bold. Don't be afraid to stand out or do something out of the ordinary. Maybe you stop posting your meals on Instagram and start engaging with your family instead. Maybe you stop taking bathroom selfies and start telling someone else she's beautiful. Share a little of your light today without drawing attention to yourself. That's a mark of beauty. And trust me, it is much more rewarding to be seen and known by the One (and even the ones closest to us) who will always show up for you, then any amount of followers you will never meet.