Today’s influencers are completely other. Social media has thrust a generation of self-appointed influencers on the world. They dress, act and dramatize their lives in hopes of gaining more likes and shares than the next person in line. Compare Michaelangelo with Skibidi Toilet. Are we headed in the right direction?
The rapper, Kanye West, or Ye as he’s known today, met Jesus in 2019 and quickly released an album entitled “Jesus is King.” The songs of the 24 time Grammy winner were filled with Scripture and wisdom. But his latest album is a deep departure. Garnering millions of downloads and titled “Heil Hitler,” it advances all types of antisemitism, even going so far as to say the Holocaust didn’t happen and Hitler was justified in the deaths that did occur. Who knows where Kanye’s heart is with Jesus, but what is absolutely clear is the stuff he’s producing is not in the least Christ like. I don’t want to be a Kanye, but a lot of people do.
Mark Zuckerberg is certainly an influencer. He just announced his company, Meta, will enter the AI world to “solve the loneliness epidemic.” His bots will have personalities and be able to engage in meaningful conversation. They will even be able to simulate intimacy. Does this make you uncomfortable? It should! Humans were designed by God to interact and build relationships with other humans, not machines, digital or otherwise. Zuckerberg is not the first entrepreneur to enter the AI world. Other companies already have millions of customers. I’ve written about some of those stories here and they are chilling. Many of them are sexual. Spouses report divorces solely because of an artificial ‘relationship’ with a chat bot. Suicides are occurring because the bot ‘told’ them to kill themselves and how to do it. Artificial relationships are just that: fake. Hit songs about a Holocaust that never happened are, guess what? Fake. Isn’t there a name for digitally generated images that resemble people but put them in places, doing things they’ve never done? Yep. They’re called Deep Fakes.
Right now, we are living in a world that is filled with counterfeit realities. According to PhotoAiD, 92 million selfies are taken daily in the world. Do you realize how many of these are edited, touched up or filtered to resemble someone totally other than the person in front of the camera? Why do we do that? Because we long to live in a perfect world. And we define perfection as “everyone likes me.”
Who are you patterning your life after? Ye or Zuckerberg? The next hot shot who gets the most likes in a video that will be forgotten before the day is up? Why don’t we take a step back and look at Jesus. His words and works are timeless. He is the only One in the universe who can satisfy your deepest longings to be known and seen. And He sees YOU, the real you! He knows what you’re afraid of and has the innate ability to lead you into a safe place. Why don’t you give Him a shot? Trusting Him is easier than spending hours searching through Facebook for the latest fads and Jesus brings peace. Facebook is a never ending source of angst. When you invite Jesus into your life, you gain purpose that matters; purpose that lasts long after you are dead and gone.
I challenge you to pick up the Bible and check Him out. You won’t be disappointed.