"Instagram" Vulnerability

Its funny. I think the new wave and stigma around instagram is “vulnerability” and “being authentic.” Maybe this is because I go to a strong Christian school. Being a Christian is quite frankly, the norm, which creates a wonderful, but also distinct culture on and off instagram for me. We write long captions on our photos talking about how we saw Jesus move mountains and how he completely wrecked us for His glory.

But to me, this isn’t real life. Jesus does wreck us, he does rebuild us, and refines us and make us better. We face challenges, we grow closer to Him, we do become better vessels of Him and through him. But is this really what a day to day life with Jesus looks like? Long instagram captions tied to a picture of an open bible next to our very noted up bible? Captions that explain our walk with Him to a new extreme?

Heres the thing: I have done this before, and will probably continue to do so. There is nothing wrong with these things. But I think they can give Christians a false sense of what a daily life with Christ is like. It turns our faith into a comparison game, trying to figure out how to look like a better Christian than the next person. We open up and are “vulnerable” when in reality we are feeding our selfishness and desire of affirmation over and over again. We post these things for comments of people telling us, “wow, love your heart.” You see, I HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE. And I think sometimes we can be so over the moon for Jesus and what Hes worked in our lives WE WANT TO POST on instagram and there is nothing selfish or inauthentic about it. However, I do think we have to watch ourselves and make sure we are posting for the right reasons in the right ways, because I sure have heck have done it for the wrong reasons. We are so tied to being seen as vulnerable and authentic, that we lose sight of what these things really mean, what Jesus would claim to truly be vulnerable.

Because of this, lets look at what vulnerability really is in a biblical context and how we as Christians need to live it out. In our current world, I think the word vulnerability is misused, and misconstrued for selfish, self-feeding desires.

First lets think of how Jesus displayed vulnerability: He laid his life down for us on the cross. He paid the ultimate sacrifice so we could live. He carried his cross while crowds of people shamed him and spatted on Him and cried out awful things to him. This my friends, is the truest form of vulnerability. Dying on a cross so that others may live. Laying your life down for a friend. You see, Jesus did this, this incredible act of vulnerability, and no part of him gained anything out of it. That is true vulnerability: the act Jesus displayed on the cross. Because vulnerability is defined as weakness, “the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.” Ask yourself when you next post something on instagram, Am I really being that Jesus-kind-of vulnerable? That, completely wrecked and open to harm vulnerable? Or am I painting a false picture of vulnerability?

You see, nothing is wrong with opening up to people. To revealing our hearts to others. To sharing our stories, our weaknesses, our flaws, our highs, our lows. But thats not true vulnerability. True vulnerability is openly exposing yourself to attack, to fall at the feet of Jesus when you feel completely wrecked and unable to repair yourself. Both things which are beautiful and healthy and help us walk in the light of Jesus Christ, but we must remember where to draw the line when we come onto social media platforms and share our stories.

As we all well know, instagram isn’t real life. I have said it once and I will say it again. A day in a Christian life for me sometimes looks like not wanting to open my bible, quite frankly most days not. It looks like scanning my daily devotion rather than really investing time into it. It looks like opening my bible because I'm guilty not because I have the desire. But you see some days also look like a true passion for the Lord. It looks like spending large amounts of time in the word. It looks like relying on Jesus for every breath. Every day looks different. But every day is just as real the same. But let us as Christians not feed into the secular world of gaining praise and self obsession when we post a bible verse on instagram.

It is easy, my friends, to fall into this trap, but next time, before you post something on instagram ask God “I am doing this for Your glory Lord, or for mine?”