I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:27
Photo by Kate Townsend on Unsplash
Many people are familiar with FOMO – the fear of missing out on what’s happening, which drives the obsessive non-stop checking of our phones to see what’s trending, who liked a post, and how many new followers we now have on the different, constantly growing number of social platforms. Not enough is however being said about FOLO – the fear of losing out in the pell-mell race to drive the follower count upwards, which has become the definitive metric on social networks for measuring personal net worth.
For the believer who is out there creating edifying content, this can be a real fear too. It is an even more destructive fear because it can be disguised as a burning desire to get the Word out. Of course, there is a great and desperately urgent need to get the Word out to a dying world, but we must be careful so that, what fuels our zeal isn’t FOLO, because that can turn our devotions to mere content mining exercises.
Indeed, there is a real danger for us as believers that the time we spend in the Word becomes focused mainly on receiving a Word for the people of Timeline Assembly, rather than on beholding his glory, and being transformed into the same glory. In all our zealousness, we must not forget that our calling is, “that we SHOULD be with him, and that he MIGHT send us” Mark 3:14.
Rather than the FOLO, Paul the apostle writes of the more helpful fOLO: the ‘fear’ Of Losing Out. He says, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27). What does it profit if I put out great, edifying content, even as my own consecration is falling apart? What real value is there if your social net worth climbs sky high, even as your private worship nose dives?
May we not be like waiters who dutifully bring people a menu of the most amazing cuisine while we ourselves starve, without even a morsel to savour. May we instead, as husbandmen be the first partakers of the fruit.
May we not be like waiters who dutifully bring people a menu of the most amazing cuisine while we ourselves starve, without even a morsel to savour.
World Changers Magazine 