Reflections on consuming Christian Content

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed an uptick in the amount of Christian content consumed and shared by our students. I’m referring primarily to social media, TikToks, YouTube videos, and the like, but much of this also applies to Christian TV, movies, and books. I’ve seen amazing fruit come from Christian media: people coming to know Jesus for the first time through it, and others having their walks with God deepened. I don’t want us to miss out on that fruit. But I also want us to be aware that there can be dangers in consuming Christian content, especially when it’s short-form media.I imagine this is only the beginning of the rise in content being made, and that more and more Christian content will be produced—and consumed by us—in the years to come. With that in mind, I want to offer some words of caution and hopefully some wisdom for our community as we think about how to approach this area of our lives.

Be cautious when you don’t know the fruits of what you’re consuming.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” — Matthew 7:15–20

One of the primary challenges of consuming Christian content is that we usually know very little about the fruit it produces, and even less about the fruit evident in the lives of the people creating it. Especially with social media and YouTube, we only see what creators choose to present. They can present themselves as experts in spiritual things while living in ways that look nothing like Jesus.

We also need to be cautious not to judge the fruit of something simply by the comments others leave or by how it makes us feel. It might feel really good if someone tells me I should spend a bunch of money on myself, but the fruit of that would be terrible. It doesn’t look like Jesus or love others. So judging fruit based on whether we like what we’re hearing (or whether others do) is rarely wise.Instead, we must look to the outcomes of their way of life, as Hebrews 13:7 says: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” This is extremely difficult in the online space, so we should approach these things with the utmost caution.

Content, by nature, gets attention when it gives people what they want.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” — 2 Timothy 4:3–4

In the world we live in, something usually doesn’t make it onto our feed unless it’s getting engagement—likes, comments, full watch time, purchases, etc. Especially online, our experience is shaped to keep us in the very place Paul warns us about: surrounded by teachers who tell us what our “itching ears” want to hear.If someone online says something uninteresting or deeply challenging and convicting, it often doesn’t get the same engagement as something people enjoy hearing. By nature, we end up seeing videos that appeal to people, but what appeals to people is often not what is good for them. Truth is often uncomfortable. Our fallen selves rarely find it appealing. And in the digital world, this means truth doesn’t do very well in the algorithm.

So we must be extremely wary of content that seems to tell us or others exactly what we want to hear. That can be very subtle. Sometimes we enjoy the small dose of conviction a video gives us without realizing it’s only offering a spiritual “kick” for the day, rather than helping us confront the deep-rooted problems of the heart. So often, we just keep scrolling, not realizing that the one-minute video we watched is now shaping our view of God and others. We accept it as true in a heartbeat and move on, without sitting with God or checking whether it lines up with Scripture.This is why we need to talk to others who deeply know us about what we’re learning and consuming. Discuss as much of what you see as you can.

Growth is often not simple or quick.

“He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” — Mark 4:26–29

A common trend online is the 15-minute video offering five steps to solve our deepest problems. Of course this appeals to us, if I just listen to this YouTuber and do these couple of things, I’ll be healed of my issues. The problem is that growth is rarely that straightforward. Early in our walks, there is a lot of basic information to learn, and sometimes media can be a great help. But when it comes to deepening our faith, things become much harder, because formation is far more than information. Knowing a lot of things does not automatically make us mature disciples. Just look at the Pharisees if you need an example of knowledge without maturity. Often, the real growth we desire takes time. Our issues are deep-rooted and sometimes decades old. The inside of the cup is much harder to clean than the outside. So we should be wary of quick fixes that polish the outside while avoiding the messy work inside.

And we must not forget the Lord’s role in all of this. He is the one leading our growth. The Spirit is the one transforming our hearts and minds. We have a role, we can join Him or resist Him, but He is the one doing the transforming. Sometimes He moves quickly. Sometimes over years. We need to trust His timing, His process, and the areas He chooses to grow us in, even when those differ from what we would have chosen.

All that glitters is not gold.

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” — 1 Corinthians 2:1–5

As disciples of Christ, we must be cautious of outward appearances. When prophesying about Jesus, Isaiah said, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.” That’s the description of our Savior. It should caution us against being impressed by people simply because of their looks or polished presentation. It’s not just appearances, we’re also easily impressed by eloquent speech. We assume that if someone is well-spoken, they must have something of value to teach us. But Scripture challenges that assumption. Think of Paul’s description of his own preaching, or the story in Acts where someone literally fell asleep during his sermon and fell out a window. Paul probably wouldn’t do very well on social media today.We must remember that what looks good on the outside is not always good on the inside. Jesus warned the Pharisees about being whitewashed tombs for this very reason.

Part of the danger of an artificially polished exterior is that we start believing we need to be like that too, that in order to be a “good disciple,” we must at least appear to have it all together. But we forget that Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness. He doesn’t need us to be glossy, curated, but hollow. His power is displayed most clearly in those who recognize their deep need for Him. As Paul says, “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Conclusion

My fear is that this reflection may seem a bit harsh. I don’t want to downplay the positive aspects of Christian media. We live in a world full of content, and it’s incredibly valuable to have Christians creating things that point people to Christ. I’ve seen tremendous fruit when it’s done well. But I’ve also seen tremendous harm when it’s done poorly.The goal of this article is simply to help us remain aware of the dangers while still appreciating the fruit that can come from media like this. My prayer is that this is not the end of your thinking on the topic, but only the beginning.