True Followers?

       As a middle school teacher, I see societal trends that sway my students and I see how they try to be something that they are not. Sometimes this is positive and other times …not so much. I shared with my students that when I was in school, in the 80s, and we tried to pretend that we were something that we were not, we would pretend up. We who were not from the wealthier families would try to dress like we were in a vain attempt to be accepted by those who were popular. This was usually the wealthy kids. They were able to be the jocks and the cheerleaders. If you look at students today, you see a disturbing trend to pretend down. It has become popular to try and be like the thugs , drug dealers, and convicts who are portrayed in music videos, TV and movies as being powerful and successful. Instead of young girls dressing to impress, they dress like the trampy hollywoodistas, who vie for camera time and make a living of being celebrities. Young boys are sporting the Justin Beiber haircut while younger and younger girls are imitating their favorite attention-grabbing paparratzi-exciters. What we actually are seeing is true followers and true worship. It has been said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, have we not? Do we, as Christian, put as much time, energy and finances into worship? What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?
       If you were to say that you were my follower (not a wise move) then how would people be able to judge if you were a true follower or not?
       You would have to follow me. To follow me would be to listen to me and to watch me and attempt to emulate what I do or say. You would try to become like me, in every way. You would dress like me, talk like me, walk like me. You would learn about me and be able to tell, anyone who asked, anything and everything about me. You would be able to win a trivia contest based on me. Ask a middle-schooler about their favorite celebrity and they will tell you all about them. If the Idol is a singer, then the student can tell you the words to that person’s latest hit song. Have you notice that many “Christians” can’t tell you what Jesus said. They can tell you what they heard their grandmother tell them about what Jesus said, but although they have the words of their supposed idol, they don’t read them, much less commit them to memory. I had one person even tell me that Jesus was African “because he and his parents came from Africa and moved to Israel” she told me. I had to explain the part about Jesus’ parents taking him and fleeing to Egypt, following his birth. News to this lady.
       You would have to be obedient. What ever I asked you to do; you would have to do it. You would not argue with me or fail in any way to follow my commands. You would strive to do every thing within your power to succeed in carrying out my orders. You would even go beyond what you thought was possible, because you would put obedience before everything, including your own safety and life. Your mantra would become “I will do it, or die trying.” There are people who compete on reality shows for a prize. I believe the difference between most of the winners and the losers is decided by determining which contestant is willing to push the hardest without giving up. Most of us have two points that determine our limitations: physical and mental. I can do almost anything any other man can do, given time to prepare. I am, however, limited by what I will do. Can I base jump off a mountain? Sure I can. Will I base jump of a mountain? Not unless I am pushed. I can, and have, performed many back flips off diving boards and trampolines. I don’t, however, perform this flip the first time I step onto the board. Due to fear, I have to work up to it. Once I have pushed the fear down enough, I perform the flip. After the first time, I can do it with regularity. The problem is not one of ability, but willingness. Scripture states “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” This does not say that I will be given superpowers (although I wish that was the promise here), but that Christ will bring about a maturity and fear reduction that will allow me to push past my normal limitations.
       You would have to worship. What is worship? It is to love unquestioningly and uncritically. It is to Idolize or set up as higher than any other thing. To say that all else is unimportant in comparison; that although all else may pass away, the one that you worship will forever stand in the forefront of your admiration and love. If you were to worship me (again, not a very good idea) then I would expect you to tell me how wonderful that you think I am. I would expect more than for you to only call me when you needed something. I would think that you would try and build a relationship with me stemming from your great desire to spend as much time with me as possible. I would think that you would seek out alone time with me, when we could talk, one-on-one and not be disturbed by anything or anyone. Could I not expect that if I were to get into your car, I would find your radio tuned to a station that celebrated me, or CDs of my teachings or music? Would I find CDs of my biggest rival? Would you secretly be learning the teachings of my greatest nemesis when I am not around? Those who admire a particular movie star would not care who else was around if that star were to walk into the restaurant where you were eating. They would jump up and make a spectacle of themselves for the opportunity of having some contact with a person who does not know them and will, most likely, not remember them. How many “Christians” are unwilling to pray aloud before their meal, in public, due to concerns of public scorn?
       You do not want to follow me. That would be a great mistake, but how well are we following Christ? Are we just giving lip-service? Did you notice that church attendance was never mentioned? A follower will want to spend time with other followers, but spending time with followers does not mean that you are, in fact, a follower.