Emma Watson is a name some of you might recognize. She was the actress who played the character Hermione in the Harry Potter movies. The saga has since ended, but she has not stopped doing marvelous things. Watson has been very involved with women's rights. She recently made an amazing speech launching He for She, a project that seeks the involvement of men for what is actually an issue for everyone, not just men. The speech Emma gave spoke of how both men and women need freedom to be truly who they are, and not the version of themselves that they pretend to be because society assumes it is who they are. She has used the platform she has because being in an iconic book-to-movie series for real good and real change.
Another, less notable story that has been circulating is that of YouTuber Sam Pepper. In the YouTube community, there are many who have gathered followings of millions. When they make a video, there are millions of people on the other side of the screen subscribed and watching. Pepper has used his platform less admirably than Watson. His last three videos have been a reflection of that. Basically, without spending too much time on him, Pepper's videos consisted of inappropriate behavior towards others titled as "pranks" or, as of video three, "social experiments". His foot-in-mouth syndrome was not received well. The community's response to him making light of publicly violating strangers was nothing short of a resounding "NO".
I have brought all of this up to show us something. Emma Watson and Sam Pepper both have one thing in common; they are both famous. They both have the eyes of many many people on them. This is a little scary to think about. We all are in need of a savior and have no doubt done things that we aren't proud of. Neither would we want our daily actions to be as accessible to the public as their actions are. Emma and Sam are both under the scrutiny of others because of their platform. The difference, though is what they chose to do with it.
One has headlines that brings hope for the future, and the other has made headlines that discourage and mislead those who might have trusted him. Watson and Pepper both had an equal opportunity to make an impact, but only one intentionally chose to make it positive. And as Christians, we have the same choice before us.
We as Christ followers have a platform that we can reach people with: our lives. We live in the same world as everyone else. We do much of the same things. The roads we take to work have the same speed limits. The things we purchase have the same price. Even the people we talk to and do life with are often the same as those around us. The difference between us and those around us is that we proclaim to have chosen Christ. We have openly declared to the world that we know the only right path and that we are trying to take it, so peoples ears have perked up. Those around us are watching. You don't have to be the head speaker over some huge ministry to have a platform. You don't have to be a pastor or even a "Christian" artist. Your time to influence people towards Christ is now, and your ministry takes place exactly where you happen to be.
Sometimes as someone who grew up in the church, I felt like people were giving off the vibe that to really live for Christ, you need to be blatant about it. You can't just write books they have to be Christian books. You definitely can't just be in and indie band, you have to be in a Christian indie band. You can't make a movie, you have to make a Christian movie. If not, then how could you be living for God?! You can't devote your life to God unless you are doing something that is textbook Christian. Not that I am saying that Christian books, movies and artists aren't great! They are wonderful. But isn't everything that we do technically "Christian" if we have devoted ourselves to Christ? Isn't everything that we do for Christ?
Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord". So I'm not saying that we should try to hide our Christianity. Definitely we should be open about our relationship with Jesus. But we should also be who we are. We don't need to pick and choose the things we present to the world around us because some things don't seem "Christian" enough. We should feel free to show the world everything God has made us to show.
We need to realize that even when a song is about regular life, it is still for God because God reaches every part of our lives. Even when a painting doesn't include a depiction of Jesus on the cross, it is still for God. A fictional book, even if it isn't Left Behind, can still be for God, because anything we do will reflect God's love for us. It will spill out whether we say Jesus ten times in our song, or don't say his name at all. God doesn't leave us when we stop singing Toby Mack and start singing Jack Johnson. He delights in his kids and everything that they do! And God does not need to be blatantly mentioned to be in the midst of everything we do when we do it all for him.
I think that often, in attempt to fit into the Christian category, we turn our Christianity to some sort of turbo speed and stunt our ability to honestly be ourselves. We try to act like some super Christian, when in fact, we are just saved by the grace of God. We keep ourselves from creating certain things just because they don't have the overt label of Christian, and I don't think that does us any good. People are looking for the real deal. They are looking for people who struggle like they do. If we are going to proclaim to love God and live for him, the people around us are going to be looking for honesty.
I would say, as a people who have a platform because of our faith in God, we should strive to reflect honesty towards those around us. Not the type of faux-honesty that criticizes those around us and has its eyes on others, but the type of honest transparency that doesn't feel the need to look "holier" than it really is. If we live in truth, rather than in lies, then, yes, people will probably see your broken side. Those watching us on our platforms will be able to see some of the things that we would rather them not see. But that doesn't "damage our testimony". That is our testimony.
When I am honest with you guys about various issues that I wrestle with (anger and judgement just to name a few), my point is not to stoop to a certain level in order do "fit in". My point, rather, is to be a source of encouragement because I know God did not and has not left me in the mess. My goal in confessing my struggle is to bring glory to God rather than myself. It can't bring the name of Christ down to confess that you have things that God is still working on, because that is the glory and point of salvation.
And that is the drop off that I have with some mainstream Christian things. If we are to truly reach the lost, our journey as a believer that is truly in constant need of a savior will always be far more helpful than our Christian-ized edited version. Not that we aren't constantly getting better and seeing growth, but that is all due to God doing a work in us. When we try to put on a mask and pretend that we don't and have never had issues, that directly subtracts from God.
This is a "God" story, not a "look at how perfect this person is" story. Every single thing that we do should be for the glory of God, and when I try to look as if I am perfect on my own, on top of flat out living a lie, I rob God of an opportunity to beckon more of his children back to him. God wants to be able to say, "Look and see how I have worked in my child's life! I have the same in store for you! I have love and acceptance for you too! Say yes to me!" We all have a platform, and we all have a choice. By letting our guard down and giving God the glory, we can be the tools that God uses to turn hearts towards him.
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