Hey y’all, and welcome to Monday Manna!
This week we shared two simple graphics on Facebook and Instagram calling Christian influencers to look and sound like they belong to Christ.
And like every time we post something like this, we spent the days after deleting comments and blocking people. These weren’t disagreements. Some were so vulgar we won’t repeat them here.
We have been thinking about why all week...
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“‘You will know them by their fruit.’ I was hovering around Dr. Z and Mama Z for a bit, trying to discern if they’re more than skin-deep, putting on a good show. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, they are great examples for us to follow and trust. I was shocked to discover that you truly do know where we’re coming out from.”
— Mary C.
Jesus Ate With Sinners. He Never Lowered the Standard.
The two posts we shared this week on Facebook and Instagram.
Here’s what we keep seeing on social media, and it bothers us more than we can say.
The algorithm thrives on hate.
It purposely puts content in front of the people it knows will react, because it triggers a visceral response and keeps them scrolling. A post about holiness doesn’t get served to people hungry for holiness. It gets served to the people who despise it.
It’s really demonic.
No, we don’t create content just for Christians. But we do create it for people who are at least open to Biblical truth. It was never meant for people who literally hate God and loathe Christianity, and yet that’s exactly who keeps showing up in our comments.
And here’s what makes it so interesting. Those posts weren’t aimed at unbelievers. We were challenging Christian influencers to step up to the responsibility they carry, because lately we’ve been shocked to see so-called leaders and influencers living exactly like the world.
Where are the holiness standards?
"Be holy, for I am holy." — 1 Peter 1:16
Now, hear us carefully… there’s a balance here.
We know purity movements and repressive church culture have done a lot of damage. That’s not what we’re talking about, and this isn’t about beating people over the head with the Bible.
But there is a standard.
“Come as you are” doesn’t mean you “stay” as you are.
Look at Jesus.
Yes, He ate dinner with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. He accepted everyone right where they were. But He didn’t let their lifestyle shape His.
Jesus elevated those around Him, told them to stop sinning, and He showed them how to repent. To the woman caught in adultery and to the crippled man in Bethesda, He said, “Go, and sin no more.”
Everyone is welcome here at Bible Health. Everyone should be welcome at church. But the goal is to teach how we all should live according to the Bible.
We know this firsthand. When we came to Jesus, we had addictions and eating disorders. We abused alcohol and other substances. When Dr. Z came to Jesus, he was addicted to pornography, nicotine and street drugs. He walked away free.
That’s the kind of transformation Jesus wants every one of us to experience.
And Jesus preached repentance all the time. When He began His ministry, His message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Then He raised the bar higher than anyone expected:
“Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” — Matthew 5:28
“Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” — Matthew 5:22
Those are a far cry from “You shall not commit adultery” and “You shall not murder.”
But that’s the standard of God, and somehow that standard has been completely diluted, especially online.
It breaks our hearts to see young women with Bible verses in their Instagram and TikTok bios practically parading around naked. And most of them aren’t even models (not that that would make it better, but still). They’re “Christian” influencers talking about health or wellness or finances or whatever it is, and they’ve figured out that a bikini attracts more followers.
Or the pastor or Christian apologist pretending he’s Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, smoking a cigar, drinking whiskey, dropping f-bombs sharing Biblical truths with his followers.
Or And the Christian ‘crunchy’ mom who’s drinking her margarita and “healthy” cocktail bragging about how balanced she is because she’s not obsessed with wellness and avoiding the ‘health idol.’
It’s not a race to show how boldly you can express your ‘freedoms’ in Christ.
No, you shouldn’t be smoking online. You shouldn’t be drinking online. And you shouldn’t be cussing online. You should be a godly example to people.
No we’re not teetotalers, and we’re not talking about a glass of wine at dinner.
But Paul said, “If food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”
And that’s exactly what is happening here. The church is full of influencers and pastors and leaders who are literally living like the world, empowering younger brothers and sisters in the faith who are already struggling with these sins to think that they can manage them in moderation, which is a lie from the pit of hell.
Here’s why it matters so much: if you’re an influencer with a message you share, you are a teacher…
And James didn’t leave any wiggle room:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” — James 3:1
Fact is: if you’re presenting yourself as a Christian, you’ll be held to a higher standard.
And if you’re a leader stuck in sin, get help and repent. If that means stepping away from your ministry ‘job’ for a season while you get your life right, that’s honorable. Living a double life is the worse sin.
Are we perfect? No way.
Do we claim to be? No.
We’re trying our best to follow Jesus, to do what He has called us to do, and to encourage our brothers and sisters to do the same.
And if this message loses us some Substack followers, that’s fine. We’re not here to become a Substack bestseller at the cost of our integrity or our souls.
Let’s normalize Christian influencers who look and sound like they belong to Christ.
If you agree, comment “amen” and let us know we’re not the only ones here who believe this.
YOUR DAILY MANNA
“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” — 1 Peter 1:15-16
Peter wasn’t writing to people living in a Christian culture. He was writing to believers scattered as exiles across the Roman world, surrounded by pagan temples, feasts and a culture that thought their faith was strange.
And the word holy doesn’t mean weird, and it doesn’t mean superior. It means set apart. Belonging to God.
Now notice the phrase “in all your conduct.” Not Sunday conduct. All of it. Today that includes what we post, what we wear on camera and the words we use when the camera is rolling.
Peter didn’t invent this command. He was quoting Leviticus, where God said it to Israel more than once. The standard didn’t change between the Old Covenant and the New. The power to live it did.
And Peter told them exactly what to expect: “they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you” (1 Peter 4:4).
So when the comments come, don’t be surprised. It isn’t a sign you’re doing it wrong.
So here is your one thing this week.
Scroll back through what you’ve posted, shared or liked this month, and ask one question: does this look and sound like I belong to Christ? If one thing doesn’t, take it down. Then unfollow one account that keeps pulling you toward the world.
Holiness isn’t a higher standard for a few super Christians. It’s what belonging to God looks like in public.
Spread the love…
What We Are Loving This Week
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Featured Posts
Everything we’ve published since Manna #20, all three pieces, right here.
If you only have time for one, start with the Cortisol Cocktails piece. The nervous system wellness boom is everywhere right now, and it takes discernment to know what to keep and what to question.
From Natural Living Family
Bible Health is where we teach the why. Over on Natural Living Family this week we taught the how. Here are two favorites worth your five minutes…
DIY Itchy Scalp Relief + Peppermint Oil + Living to 100 + Vegetable Ramen
DIY Cough Drops + “Immune Shot” + Healthy Kids + Lentil Kale Soup
Oregano Oil + DIY Detangler Spray + Germ vs Terrain + Tuna Casserole
DIY Lubricant + Oils for “Between the Sheets” + Birth Control Risks + Chicken Roll-Ups
Want more from our Natural Living Family Substack?
Your Voice Matters
One question this week, and it is the one we keep asking ourselves.
When was the last time something a Christian posted online made you want to follow Jesus more?
And if you have a platform of any size, what is one thing you’ve decided you will never post?
The algorithm will keep rewarding outrage. That doesn’t mean we have to feed it, and it doesn’t mean we have to lower the standard to be heard.
If you are just joining us, start here. It is the piece this whole conversation is built on…
As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z
P.S. The 41-day Nervous System Reset is underway inside the Inner Circle right now. Four live 41-day studies a year, weekly teaching, Q&A and prayer with us, and every paid Bible Health resource included.
If this week’s Manna stirred something in you about living set apart, we would be honored to walk it out with you.
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Amen... living out our faith... to represent Christ our Lord and Savior should be life goals
Amen