There is this game that business people in the social media world like to play. It’s a follow for a follow or like for like, but basically, it is this idea that, “hey, I’ll follow your social media pages, if you follow mine!” This is meant to serve in aiding social media growth, making your pages appear more popular and relevant in the online community. The frustrating thing about this mentality, is that you can watch your accounts lose followers just as rapidly. People will often follow for a follow, without necessarily communicating that to you, but rather just expecting it. If you do not reciprocate, (or sometimes they do not even wait for you to follow back), they simply unfollow you. Their page is already in your notifications, and you may follow back without even knowing they’ve already unfollowed you.
I became frustrated, watching this constant fluctuation in my numbers, with no real gains. I had caught wind of an app called Followers, which lets you know just who has unfollowed you, and, curious, I decided to give it a try. I thought it might give me insight as to why I’m not growing quite as much as I’d like.
What I didn’t expect was how it would make me feel. It not only tells you who is unfollowing, but it gives you a list of people you follow but are not following you back. This is not a huge deal as I follow a lot of celebrities I like, and yarn companies. However, I discovered actual friends of mine, who were following me at one point, were no longer.
Let me stop there, because this is important.
…for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. ~John 12:43
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. ~Galations 1:10
We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. ~1 Thessalonians 2:4 (b)
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. ~Proverbs 29:25
And there are so many more! It is really easy to get caught up in the world of pleasing people. It’s easy to do that even without social media, because…I mean, look how often the Bible addresses this during a time before there were even phones!
In today’s age of social media and connectivity, it is that much easier. We find ourselves measuring our worth and success by that number of friends, likes, or followers. It is easy to feel hurt when we lose some. Sometimes we even find ourselves trying to “fix” something about ourselves or our page so that we don’t lose more.
As I said in the beginning, it is a game. Often times, following or unfollowing isn’t even personal. It’s just people with differing interests. Focusing on that number will cause doubt, insecurity, and even hurt feelings. Don’t get me wrong. I am incredibly thankful for those who enjoy my content and support my business dreams. I LOVE hearing from them, and sharing with them. It makes my heart happy to hear how they’ve enjoyed a pattern, recipe, or Monday Message. But I (we) cannot put our stock into that number. That number, those followers, and even friends, will always change. It doesn’t make or break us.
But God is unchanging.
Good morning! I am a follower of your Monday message, though I often read several Wednesday’s later as is the case today. I believe God is nudging me to encourage you today so please accept this as from Him and not from “man.” Keep up the good work. Your insights are always appreciated and I often identify closely with your topic. Today it helped to read that it took you some time to turn to God on the subject…my “response time” is improving but I am sometimes slow as well. I pray you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. Happy New Year!
Kristin, thank you so much for your comment! I believe with all my heart that God “nudged,” you. It was so timely!
I won’t go into all the whiny details, but it has been a VERY rough Christmas for my family this year. This week has been filled with stress. I haven’t had the time to even sit down to the computer until it is already nearly midnight. I didn’t put out a Monday Message this week, not because it was Christmas, but because I simply couldn’t get it done. 🙁 I have been so overwhelmed at a time when I need to be winding down, resting, and gearing up for the new year!
THANK YOU for your encouragement! Praise God for your obedience to His nudge! You have been a blessing to me, at the exact moment I needed it, and a reminder to me that I am loved. I am so thankful! I pray you and your family have a blessed new year!
You are loved! I am glad the nudge came at the right time. Several years ago I tried to do a regular post on a site I created and realized very quickly that I could not handle the pressure of writing to an audience I couldn’t see. I encourage you to keep going but only as long as God shows you that it is the right thing. May the Holy Spirit always guide you as you choose priorities!