Popularity

Your voice is sweet and your face is lovely (Song of Solomon 2:14).

From childhood we have been seeking the attention of others.  “Look at me!” we cried as we tried to be acrobatic, played dress up, or made silly faces for an audience.  As we get older, the attention-seeking changes—we learn to dress fashionably or tell really good jokes or shine in debate.  Many adult attention-seekers enter politics or go into broadcast journalism or try to make it as a celebrity. 

We all want people to like us, respect us, dote on us, love us.  So we try to impress by how we dress and how we talk.  We try to impress by how we cook and do our jobs.  We flaunt what we have, and get miffed when no one pays attention.

Sadly, trying to get everyone to like you is futile.  No matter how attractive or talented you are, there is always someone else who has nicer looks, more money, or a better sense of humor.  No matter how hard you try to impress, there are people who won’t find you interesting or worthy of their time.  In fact, if you get too popular, you’ll just provoke others to see you as unwanted competition and they will try to tear you down so they can be the undisputed center of attention.

Another problem with the quest to be popular is that it can make you afraid to take risks.  Politicians quickly learn that in order to get elected you have to tell people what they want to hear; each person that you offend becomes a voter for someone else.  Men and women who are in abusive relationships put up with pain and mistreatment because they don’t want to risk being alone if they stand up for themselves or walk out the door never to return. 

There is nothing futile about wanting to be loved and respected, but you can’t make people like you.  Instead, you need to take risks.  You need to take the risk of being vulnerable, owning up to your mistakes and asking for forgiveness instead of constantly bragging about how great you are.  You need to take the risk of doing what God wants you to do, even if you’re afraid that it won’t endear you to others.  God is love; everything He does is motivated by love, and living as His student will reflect genuine love to everyone around you.  If they don’t respond to that, it is their loss, not yours.