In John 5:44: Jesus says, “I do not receive glory from people…How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”

Jesus warns the Pharisees about living for the approval of the world and of each other. Not only that, He claims that it blinds them from receiving the Glory which Christ has come to share with the world. I cannot help but think that Jesus would ask us a very similar question today, especially as He looks out across the current landscape of our social media, screen-laden world.

As much as I enjoy updating my followers about Olivia’s and my trip to Pizzaria Ruby (you’ve got to go!), social media is no longer an endearing scrapbook of our lives. Social media is becoming a dangerous substitute for life. And, as Christians, it can be a blinding barrier from fellowship with God. The major reason is because it runs on the approval of others. I’m not talking about algorithms; this is deeper than that.

It’s about John 5:44. It’s about where we choose to seek Glory.

I write to you as one who has spent too long being anxious about the approval of others, online and otherwise. In this reflection, I want to issue a warning first: It is our human nature to live for the approval of others, instead of God. And, I can imagine no scarier time than today which feeds into this nature. Second, I want to encourage us to find more fellowship in God’s Glory, rather than for the attention of others.

1. In a Box of a Billion Eyes

Do you ever find yourself exhausted from a pressure to perform? It is no wonder. We are in a world that lives for the individual platform. When Shakespeare wrote “all the world’s a stage,” he had no idea what was coming: the iPhone and the Internet.  Sprawling across an endless stream of data is one, long stage, in a box of a billion eyes.  Like divas in a drama class, our culture is a constant fight for more of the spotlight.  Online, each of us can manicure our lives and flex over our flaws in posts for others to be amazed around the world. We can pose and dance, sing and act at any point in the day, for many to see and praise.

We live in a world that cultivates and rewards self-exaltation: an era where everyone can have fame; of online resumes for everyone to see; an era of stadiums on every corner filled with screens larger than most homes; the era of the all-seeing camera.

The most vital commodity of the modern age is attention: how many views, how many likes, and how much time spent watching.  Every video, advertisement, and performance is designed to capture your attention and keep your head down in your black box. All around us is the frantic scramble to establish personal brands to appeal to some mass of people. In Jesus’ time, Caesar engraved his image on metal money to signify his worth and to spread his fame. Here we are, engraving our own personal image everywhere online, hoping for someone to buy in to our greatness—our beauty—our worth.

Sometimes, people do this online under the banner of business, advertising, entertainment, or just sharing. But underneath can often lie a secret and deep desire to be a name worthy of attention; to be a name that people worship like those celebrities flashing on the screen, adorned in awe for their new superhero sequel…or whatever product you must pre-order today! Because, who doesn’t desire such admiration? That is why we want such attention online or elsewhere. We self-exalt, because culture shows us that it will give us the attention we need to be loved and admired. Many people who are living through a screen are living on a stage, trying desperately to be seen. It is a tragedy many of us have fallen into.  

In John 5, the Pharisees reject Jesus because they are too consumed with seeking their own glory and self-approval. They don’t see Jesus in His Glory because they are obsessed with being seen in their own. They have their own stage, where they have set up many unnecessary rules and acts for looking godly. Like our world, they had a system to find approval from one another. If we’re not careful, we will set our hearts on what the world lifts up and praises and not on what Christ desires. This search for the approval of others will take over.

Approval will drive every personal decision and private moment, turning them all into an opportunity to share with an online audience or win the attention of an imaginary onlooker. Life can start to revolve around your “presence” inside the social media box. The more followers or likes or views, the happier we are.

In life, we can set the approval of others above the Lord’s: the praise and expectations of those who would get us to compromise our faith and obedience; the world which calls us to compete in comparison and extravagance and overindulgence; the affections of anyone else we would rather have than God’s. But Jesus says, “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25)

Here’s the reminder we need: the approval of man fails. Their wishes are often evil. Their love is shallow. Their views are misguided. And their measure of greatness is wrong. In fact, it is the wishes and approval of men that so often lead us to sin. And so, our hunger deepens into a bottomless pit for attention. Like every other earthly commodity, there is never enough attention from the world to satisfy the hungry, human heart. There is never an audience or onlooker with a love wide enough to give us the attention we seek; not in any other person on this earth—whether mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, friend, or millions of fans. There is never enough of the kind of attention that will be able to see into and touch those parts only God can. For all its thrills, there is never enough attention or approval, likes or fans, trophies or accolades in the world to get…Glory.

2. Under the Eyes of God
   

Glory is often thought of as some shiny, radiating honor. But Jesus also describes it as a hidden and intimate love.

In John 17, before He would go to the cross, Jesus lifted His voice and prayed for us to the Father; “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one…Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

In Christ, you get something better than attention. You get Glory.  In humility, Christ suffered the most unthinkable shame so that would we find the glory of His love.  He found us unworthy, unacceptable, and still He died for us. In paying our debt, Christ died so that we may be reconciled into the intimate glory of God, as His beloved sons and daughters. In that glory is all the identity and attention and love we could ever hope to find, which we try so anxiously to get on the world’s stage. God died for you…and for me. There is nothing lasting that the world’s approval can offer you.

Our deepest need to be seen and known can never be met in the world, at the altar of attention or in the eye of a camera; not with a billion eyes of awe and approval. Attention, after all, doesn’t equate to connection---the connection we desire in the deep well of our soul which only the Light of God can reach. Under God’s eyes, we are not on a stage. We are in His Presence. We have exited the theater of worldly praise and reached reality: Christ is Lord! He stands above us all. He is worthy of all praise and honor.  He already knows us better than we know ourselves. “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). And, in the Holy Spirit, discipleship is not an act or role we play, like on a screen. In knowing Christ, we become “partakers in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).  In Christ, God is actively transforming us into the image of His Glorious Son (Romans 8:29). Woah!

So, what does this all mean?

It means we have a decision to make, like the Pharisees: to seek the glory that comes from the world or to “seek the Glory that comes from the Only God.”

It means surrendering our need for human approval to Jesus, both online and in daily life.  

It means we should look to God’s ways and not our own.

God is not looking for you to exalt yourself to prove anything or capture attention. He is looking for you to humble yourself—to take the time to see Christ Himself exalted in His love and righteousness.

He is not looking for a religious act or performance, like the rest of the world. He is looking for you to be honest with yourself, even the most sinful parts of you.

He is not looking for your glory. He is looking for those that know His.

The world commends vain attention-seeking, like staring in a mirror. Time and time again, we see Jesus, in the Gospels, commend one thing: faith.  Faith is staring at Jesus in your heart. With faith, there is nowhere you would rather be than under the eyes of God.  There, you find a welcome and real onlooker in every moment of your life. He is perfect, righteous, and caring. He is active and moving. And, oh, He loves you, with a love that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19). He sees all your insecurities and cares for them. He sees your all your sins and failures and offers forgiveness and redemption. He is not looking for an audience to gawk and keep scrolling. He is looking for disciples. He is looking for those faithful followers, who— in a world of endless entertainment and scrolling screens and opportunities for self-exaltation—find the most amazing Glory with their eyes closed, praying in their closet.

It is only in sharing all your moments with Him that you will find the glory you seek, allowing the encouragement and enjoyment you need to live in deep fellowship with God. Again and again, we must turn our eyes to Christ; to Calvary, where He draws all men to Himself; to practice the Presence of God, living all our moments from Him and for Him, in Him and through Him. So, put down the phone, let more moments go unrecorded, breathe, and look more to the Glory of God.

We must carefully consider where we seek glory and how we pursue it. We are made for an immense glory beyond our imagination. It is only the Glory of God, which Christ Himself described, as an intimacy between Him and His Father, which can fill us with peace and joy. Yes, we should post the inspirational verses and the birthday pic. Enjoy entertainment and the art of the performance. Lift our praises— online and everywhere. But we should not live our lives performing for the approval of the world; for self-exaltation. Live for knowing Christ. Live for obeying Christ. It is only in Him that we could ever have the glory of fellowship in God. To steal a phrase from C.S. Lewis; “If you are looking for glory, you will never find it. But if you are looking for Christ, you will find true Glory.”