He Typed a Blog Post. You Won’t Believe What Happened Next!
Call it “clickbait.”
Call it “exaggeration.”
Call it “over the top.”
Call it “hype.”
Whatever you want to call it, if you are on Facebook, you have seen the posts, because our news streams are filled with them.
It might be a picture of a singer walking on a large stage, but the post says, “She walked on stage and everyone thought she looked strange. But when she opened her mouth, you won’t believe what she did!”
Okay, so I have clicked on a few of these. Here’s the thing: virtually none of them were all that impressive.
The girl might have been an okay singer. The artist might have had some talent. The dunk might have been better than average.
But was it worth all the hype that was generated in the Facebook post? The reality was far exceeded by the build-up; by the hype.
I am not writing this article to rail against any of those posts in particular (although, the more I see them on my feed, the more they drive me nuts–and I don’t click them at all anymore). Instead, I want us to think about what all this “over the top” posting means for Christians.
Specifically, what does it mean as we seek to share the simple message of the cross?
Literally, nothing more important has ever happened than when Jesus died and then overcame death three days later. Everything hinges on it–both our eternal fate as well as our daily morals.
But you don’t see Christians trying to put an article online about the cross and then “clickbaiting” it with, “He went to a Roman trial. You won’t believe what happened next!”
Why?
Because we know that the message we are to share with the world is not about getting page views. It’s not about clicks. It’s not about hype, or about over-the-top headlines.
It is about sharing the simple message of salvation through humble lives and clear teaching.
The cross is not to be dressed up. It doesn’t need some type of hype video. We don’t have to add countless overused adjectives.
“Old” and “rugged” seem to have worked just fine for a couple of millennia, don’t you think?
When we understand sin and its connection to both the cross and our eternal fate, the resurrection becomes its own best expression. We are thrilled by it, but we want people to come to that same excitement and joy through a deep study of God’s Word, not through any modern clickbait antics.
“O grave, where is your victory?” is quite powerful enough, isn’t it?
We need to talk about Jesus. We need to overflow with the joy of Christian living. We need to never shy away from being both humbled and honored to be part of God’s family.
Our humble and peaceful lives, and our clear and concise teaching of the Word, are all the “hype” we need to share the Gospel.
But, I must say, if we are faithful until the end, I really don’t think any of us can grasp what happens next!
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
