I’m not on social media, but in this digital age, it’s almost impossible not to see some influencers, vloggers, or Tik-Tokers (did I make up that word?) when I watch the latest clips of SNL. There are a lot of different vlogger-style videos that come up, begging to be clicked on with their click-bait titles. But the specific videos I’m speaking of display Christian lifestyle vloggers. Here are some of the titles I saw that were alarming to me: “Holy Girl Glow-Up,” “Holy Girl Summer,” “Holy Girl Slay,” Ultimate Holy Girl Fall Guide,” “Holy Girl Runs,” “Holy Girl Outfit Ideas,” and “Holy Girl Habits”- to name more than a few.
These videos all look the same. The cover is a mural of photos of said vlogger doing daily tasks. They take a leisurely walk, work out, wear a modern, modest outfit, and always read their Bible with dim lighting, a candle lit, and a bed made. They only post aesthetically pleasing images that are sure to bring the views. The pictures are curated, neutral, and edited, displaying an ideal, perfect day.
I noticed that they showed everyday things for everyone, not just Christians. Anyone can take a leisurely walk, make a bed, get up early, work out, and dress modestly. However, reading the Bible is unique to some people. I immediately had many problems with this “holy girl” vlog. What stood out to me was that all their activities for the day were universal. Anyone of any religion could have done them. Yet they coined these activities as something a “holy girl” would do even though these activities aren’t founded on any Truth.
Going on a walk doesn’t make us holy.
Doing a workout doesn’t make us holy.
Getting up early doesn’t make us holy.
Making our bed doesn’t make us holy.
Wearing modest, trendy clothes doesn’t make us holy.
Reading our Bible doesn’t make us holy.
Listening to worship music doesn’t make us holy.
Voting conservatively doesn’t make us holy.
We can also say the opposite for all the above statements. So here’s the truth:
God makes us holy. We become holy when we verbally confess that Jesus Christ died for our sins and then rose again three days later. After we do this, God’s Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us. No amount of habits, tasks, or activities will make us more holy.
We are made in God’s image. Because God is holy, we are holy. No activity, no amount of reading the Bible, listening to Christian podcasts, or reading Christian novels will make me more holy. Yet these Christian vloggers make money by showing the world the way to a more “holy” life by including these things in their practice.
Is reading the Bible, attending church, listening to podcasts, or reading books in the Christian category bad? Nope. They aren’t. But the problem with these vloggers is that they monetize off their daily “Christian” routine. They use the Lord’s name in vain to promote themselves. They do this by showcasing their lifestyle, cute outfits, workout routines, and healthy food for their platform. These posts are general and meant to be encouraging, but to me, inauthentic. That’s the biggest caution flag I see with these influencers: the inauthenticity of their posts. Here’s what Jesus said in Matthew:
“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for fifteen minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.” Matthew 6:1-8 MSG
They do it all in the name of Jesus Christ, yet when you look at Jesus’ life, you see that he didn’t want fame, he didn’t want fortune, and didn’t need attention. He didn’t market the gospel; he lived it. And isn’t our goal to “be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do as He did (John Mark Comer in his book Practicing the Way)?”
People flocked to Him because of the truth He was speaking, the freedoms He was issuing, the healings He was doing, and the promises He was making. Sadly, I see these vloggers promoting their brand in Jesus’ name, yet I question what their purpose is when the majority of what I see isn’t inherently Christian activities at all. Christians are already coined for being hypocritical, and for good reason. We talk and talk, yet our actions don’t align with our words. And we all know the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.”
Being a stay-at-home mom, life is full of monotony. In that monotony, I’m challenged to abide in Jesus the most. Finding him in the everyday monotony- not just in the moments that might be social media worthy. Folding laundry and praying for the family member whose underwear I’m folding. Doing the dishes and being thankful, I get to cook, bake and have dirty dishes because of the healthy bodies I’m feeding. Having the attitude of getting to clean the house instead of having to clean the house. The “holy girl” being presented takes vastly different human beings and puts them into a box God did not make. God made all of us unique human beings with different gifts. If we all acted the same, did the same habits and tasks all the same way, life would be boring, and the Big C church wouldn’t have all the people doing the gifts they were created to do.
God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 MSG
What I am doing is just as important as the mom who goes to work every day after dropping her kids off at school. Or the single mom working her tail off to make ends meet. Or the mom who loves her career and has kids yet feels ashamed for loving her career. Or the woman who desperately wants to be a mom but isn’t yet. Or the mom…fill in the blank… These videos or posts don’t include a regular schedule that most people are on. These influencers are usually single. When I was single, I could do everything they did in their vlogs, but now, my life isn’t only about me. My job is to take care of my family, and it’s a 24/7 job. Even during the day, when I get a break from parenting when my child is at school, I’m still planning, cleaning, picking up, organizing, grocery shopping, paying bills, and keeping up with the things I need to keep up with.
My work at home is holy and pleasing to the Lord because of my heart posture and obedience to Him. And I’m not saying that other’s work isn’t. Sure, I go on walks and eat healthy food. I like to think my outfits are stylish, and I appreciate quiet time with my Lord, but when I don’t do those things, when I get into a bad habit of spending time on my phone instead of with Holy Spirit, I’m no less holy. When I strive for perfection, or my OCD takes over, I’m no less holy. When I lose self-control in a moment of humanness and lash out at my daughter or husband, I’m no less holy. But when those human moments happen, I’m thankful I have Holy Spirit prompting me to make it right with those I’ve hurt. In that making right, I turn my body figuratively to Jesus in repentance, knowing His grace covers all.
Because we are made in God’s image, we are holy. All we do in this life is meant to bring glory to God. Even when we royally mess up and sin, God uses that to bring glory to himself. He consistently molds us, shapes us, and sanctifies us.
All I see in these videos about how to be a “holy girl” is self-fulfillment. Getting up early, making your bed, going for a walk, making healthy meals, and wearing an aesthetically pleasing outfit are all self-serving. These things are the hamster wheel of discontent that leads us nowhere. Satan wants us to be distracted by all the things so that we miss the Main Thing – Jesus. Like I said before, reading your Bible, praying, worshiping, etc., are all great things to do as a believer. Those activities help us align our hearts with God’s heart. However, there are issues when those activities are seen as the end-all for being a “better” believer. The vloggers and influencers who consistently post these videos and posts are already getting their reward. They are getting compliments on their modern, seasonally aesthetic, modest outfits. They are getting kudos for “how holy they are.” These vloggers and influencers are reaping their reward for what it is—a worldly reward they get right now.
But when we, as believers, do things not for our own gain but for the gain of Christ, we abide in a space of treasuring heavenly gifts. We don’t have to strive for what “that holy girl” stands for and is. At the end of the day, it’s empty.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:19-21 & 24 NIV
When we choose to do things because they are good for us, our families, our kids, our friends, our local church, the church as a whole, the lowly, the outcast, the environment, etc., we see that Jesus delights in us by giving us good gifts—maybe not tangible gifts, but gifts nonetheless. When girls watch or see these “how to be a holy girl” posts, I wonder if there is more shame than follow-through on their side. It promotes striving, but in our relationship with Jesus, we don’t need to strive. I believe that this kind of striving is right where Satan wants us. It keeps us distracted from the main thing – Jesus. Striving keeps us distracted enough to continue doing the tasks, habits, and legalistic rules over and over while feeling there must be something more. There has to be something more.
That something more does include striving, but a different kind of striving, a healthy kind of striving. Let’s take the word strain from Philippians 3:14. This straining is moving toward our end goal, which is to be eternally present with Christ. So, although we strain for that end goal, we don’t need to strive in our daily lives, doing tasks that keep us on a hamster wheel of discontent. Striving keeps our eyes on ourselves, our goals, our wants, our ideas, our rules, etc. It has to do with self. Where straining, your eyes are on God, His will, His way, His love, His grace, etc. When we strain toward our end goal, we have freedom in our habits. Freedom to do or don’t do. Freedom to do it differently. Freedom to just be. We aren’t saved because of what we have done or will do. No! We are saved by grace through faith. That’s it.
I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. Philippians 3:12-14 The Message
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 NIV
I have learned to be quiet, sit still, and truly abide in what Holy Spirit wants for me, wants to say to me, wants to stir in me, or simply wants to be with me. In this silence, I feel an overwhelming peace, the confusion dissipates, and there is a sense of comfort that nothing else gives. I can continue on the hamster wheel of all the “right” things I “should” do in my relationship with Jesus. But, when I stop to listen, my relationship with Jesus grows the most. When I stop the hamster wheel and ask Holy Spirit, “What do you want me to know?” and “What do you want me to do about it?” (an exercise introduced to us through Jamie Winship’s ministry), I realize that the “right” things often distract me from the Main Thing. I distract myself with the “right things” and, in turn, ignore and am blind to the deeper issues that God wants to prune or cut off completely. I think this is where the confusion comes in for a lot of believers, and I have been in this exact position of asking, “I’m doing all the right things, so why isn’t (or is) this happening?!” or “I’m doing all the right things, but I still feel anxious.”
Stop. Take a deep breath, or five. In those moments, I have to remind myself of God’s character. I must remind myself that He is good and faithful, and He understands and sees me. This might lead me to meditate on scripture or put on worship music, but in doing these activities, my heart is oriented not to get something for me but to simply be in God’s presence. That’s the gift. Anything revealed is extra. The anxiety might still be there, and the question might still be there, but when my heart isn’t in the right posture to receive what God knows is best for me, I will not receive it, thus sending me another time around on that hamster wheel.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-4 NIV
I get that these influencers’ goal is to spread the good news of Jesus (and I do appreciate this), but I can’t get past the fact that they are monetizing off of a lie. Sadly, the Christian faith has turned into something to be platformed and not a lifestyle to be transformed. Our faith is meant to be done within a community and wasn’t built on the frequent performance it gets made into. We as humans aren’t meant to live in isolation, let alone as believers. I hope the hundreds of thousands of people who see these influencers’ posts don’t despair that they will never be worthy.
Jesus’ ministry on Earth differed vastly from many modern Christian influencers today. Jesus’ feet were dirty. He probably had dirt under his fingernails and dust covering His visible skin. He would retreat to a quiet place where He would be alone with the Father. Not alone with the Father + thousands of people viewing him from afar. He was alone. Abiding. Then, after spending time with Him, He would go into the villages and travel, spreading the good news but never in a flashy way. When Jesus got attention, he retreated from the crowds. Jesus would also, after healing people, sometimes tell them not to tell anyone.
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:12-16 NIV
Jesus didn’t come from a prominent family. He was birthed by a mom who wasn’t even married but engaged. He was birthed at a time when there was political unrest, and King Herod wanted Him dead. His family misunderstood him. He was God in human flesh, so although he was extraordinary, he was made ordinary for a time so that all would believe in him. He wasn’t and isn’t just for affluent people. He is for the ordinary. He is for the outcast. He is for the lowly. He is for everybody. At his table, everyone is welcome.
So, let’s remember: When we allow Jesus to work in our hearts and minds, He consistently and constantly shapes and molds us. We will never be perfect and shouldn’t strive for that perfection. When we strive, we lose sight of the freedom God has granted us through His Holy Spirit. We get free choice. In that free choice, we get to link arms with Holy Spirit and walk beside Him as he leads us in His work in and through us. We will continue to grow and mature, and that’s a gift in itself.
So, let’s choose goodness and mercy, justice and kindness. Let’s live out the Fruits of the Spirit because, in living those out, our habits, tasks, and hearts will fall in line with righteous living.
Let go of the pressure and live in the freedom that God freely gives. Quit striving because it will stunt your growth in Christ. Keep your eyes on Christ, moving forward in his love and grace. Strain towards the goal of living in His eternal presence, but in the present, live in that spacious place Jesus so generously brings us to. A space where His boundaries are good, His love is everlasting, His grace exceeds all bounds, and where He gently reminds you to turn your eyes back on Him.
You’re holy, girl.