Why We Crave to Be Seen by God
We are hardwired to desire affirmation, and that’s not a bad quality in and of itself. In fact, we see this impulse from the earliest stages of our lives. I think of my nephews when they were little. Whether they were attempting a summersault or jumping off a diving board, their constant plea was “Watch me, Aunt Tammy! Watch me!”
When People Praise, but You Still Feel Invisible
The problem enters when the “Watch me!” of childhood becomes (as it easily can) an adult’s unspoken—but more complicated—“Notice me.” Notice the work I’m doing. Notice the outfit I’m wearing. Notice how competent I am. Notice how spiritual I’ve become. The danger with living for the approval of people is that this approach will inevitably clash with our allegiance to Jesus. The apostle Paul asks:
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10
If I’m chasing the approval of human beings, I will find myself compromising my allegiance to Jesus. Rather than living my days asking . . .
What would Jesus choose in this decision?
How can I best honor God in this relationship?
What would it look like to choose God’s Kingdom at this moment?
. . . I’ll find myself contemplating,
How can I make sure people think I’m successful?
How can I avoid making that person angry?
Which of these twenty-eight pictures I took in the bathroom mirror will garner me the most social-media attention?
Living for others’ approval will divide my allegiance. I can no longer live with the clarity that “Jesus is King!” Now I serve many kings. At times, my boss is king or my friends are king or my significant other is king or the strangers on social media are king.
And Jesus tells us, “If you do [live your life to be seen by others], you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Basically, if what we’re after is the approval of other people, God will leave us to chase it. He’s not interested in competing for our attention.
If Jesus were sharing these words from the Sermon on the Mount today, he likely wouldn’t name synagogues and street corners as the places where we’ll be tempted to get others to notice us. But I suspect he would mention social media.
Listen, I enjoy social media. I’m on several platforms and typically engage with them daily. You may have found this book because of something I posted on social media. But in our modern world, these online gathering places are the primary avenues by which we can fall into the trap of living our lives as Jesus warns us against in his Sermon: “to be seen by others.”
If you are active on social media, look at your last half-dozen or so posts and ask yourself, Why did I post that? What was I hoping would happen when I posted that? Be honest with yourself about your motivations and reflect on your emotions. Did you find your sense of self rising or falling with the likes and comments?
A simple Google search will reveal the ties between social-media use and depression, narcissism, anxiety, and other mental-health concerns—but social media can also be a detriment to discipleship. In the face of an ever-present temptation to live from a posture of “Notice me!”, our timelines and newsfeeds draw our attention away from the One who says, “Follow me.”
I’m not saying that it is wrong to feel good when people engage with a post! But we need to consistently check ourselves and remain on guard against how these platforms provide an ever-accessible means for us to live our lives for the approval of others.
What Happens When You Are Seen by God
Part of growing in the Kingdom way of Jesus is recognizing that this need to be noticed can never be truly satisfied by other people. We will never find shalom in social-media likes or YouTube views. We are made to be noticed by God.
Freedom from Chasing Human Approval
Wherever you are, pause for just a second. Take a deep breath. Ponder the reality that God sees you. God notices you. And just in case that thought starts to stir up anxiety or fear, let me remind you that he is a loving Father. He created you. He loves you. You are his beloved child. He wants good things for you. He wants you to experience a sense of well-being in the deepest part of your soul. You are already seen by the One who matters most.
