Popularity

     Recently, I was having two conversations with different people about decisions that needed to be made in their lives.  One was a student who was wondering what would happen on prom night.  The other was a friend having to confront another friend about a sin issue. 

     As I compare the two stories I find a major similarity between them.  The student was worried about prom night because he had been told that after prom you are supposed to go and get drunk and do what the Bible calls fornication.  He was worried that if he didn’t go he wouldn’t be considered popular anymore.  He thought maybe he would just go for a little while and hopefully be able to run out before temptations overcame him in order to keep his popular status.

     The same worry was true in the other conversation.  A woman’s friend was in deep sin.  Which sin isn’t important, put in whatever you dislike, gossip, pride, gluttony, laziness, worry, murder, envy, or anger.  This sin was really becoming an issue and she felt she needed to talk to her friend about it.  Un-fortunately the other woman happened to be one of the most popular church-goers in her circle.  Confronting her would rattle her cage and cause friction between the so-called “in crowd” at church and herself.   She thought that maybe she just wouldn’t do anything at all and be sure to keep her own popular status.

     In both of these cases, the person was a follower of Jesus Christ.  Both of them were struggling with wanting to be popular.  They were more worried about being popular than being holy.  This crisis of faith is taking place everyday.  People waver between wanting to be popular and wanting to be holy and set apart for Jesus.  It is taking place in the pulpits, from pastors watering down their message to draw a crowd, to the schools where a Jr. High student picks on a classmate in order to be invited to a party.  Often these decisions are in the smaller details of life…what movie or TV show to watch, whether or not to gossip or to tell a rude joke, what style of clothing or lack thereof to wear, or to spend money on self or give back to God’s work.

     The Bible clearly states in 2 Cor. 6:16 - 7:1 that we are to be separate and holy.  This is not so that all our fun would be taken away, but so that God would walk among us and be our Father.  Since we have this promise according to this passage, let us choose holiness over popularity.  The momentary happiness that we might get from popularity can never replace the pain of compromising our faith or the supreme joy of walking the narrow road and knowing that our Father is with us.