Jesus Christ Is More Important Than My Follower Count
My Rebuttal to an accusation that I'm grifting for a new Christian audience
Last night, a long-time Twitter/X follower accused me of grifting for a new Christian audience. Normally, I wouldn’t care but this was someone who sent me private messages talking about how much he liked following me and even how much we have in common.
However, their problem: I dared to talk about Jesus.
They gave me a snide comment months ago when I discussed my religious journey and it’s because they’re an atheist.
Obviously, most atheists don’t care what I believe and I feel the same way about their belief system but last night he made it obvious how he feels. So, here is my rebuttal:
Since this was thrown in my face, let's address it:
Just because I was baptized the other day doesn't mean that's the first day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I accepted Him over 2 years ago, I just didn't feel comfortable talking about it. This post is exactly why.
Everyone on here (Twitter/X) who has even a moderate following gets accused of being a grifter. You're told you're just saying something to get more attention. The last thing I wanted 2 years ago was to be accused of trying to gain a new Christian following while being on a personal journey.
I started writing my book in 2020 and even in there I made references to God. I didn't name Jesus Christ because I was coming from a previous perspective of being unsure if there was a God (agnostic) to knowing there was one.
I believe that things like faith are very personal and for many, it takes time to establish a relationship with God if you even want one. Because it's personal, your belief system is not my concern. I don't care if you believe in God or not, that's your prerogative.
But I do care when you attempt to weaponize my belief system as being some cheap attention ploy. The countless questions and hours answering those questions took years for me to come to this place in faith all to be used against me in such a flippant manner.
Nothing has changed about my moral compass or how I treat people. Whether they're believers or not, I respect every person's decision to believe or not believe. If you're respectful, I show it back. But it's clear that my proclamation bothers at least one of you...maybe more.
So, let this be known: I am a Christian. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior. I don't give a damn about my follower count because there are far more important things to me. If that means I lose 100k followers, so be it. A gun to my head can't get me to disavow my faith.
This is the last time I'll be addressing this. If you do not like it, unfollow me...block me...I don't care. You are not even close to being as important to me as a relationship with Jesus is.
It’s very easy to internalize criticisms like the one you received as a personal attack. As Christians, I think it’s important we remember that many of the negative responses we see have nothing to do with us as individuals, or Christ for that matter. So many people outside of the faith carry damage and scar tissue caused by religion, Christians, or just people who claim to be Christians. Oftentimes they are lashing out, sometimes subconsciously, due to their past hurts and/or traumas. My guess is that your accuser here has been hurt in the past, and it likely had little to do with the teachings of Christ. Try not to reinforce his hate. It’s far more likely that religion or the religious hurt him rather than that he’s hating on you for a sincerely held belief you’ve developed. Don’t allow his pain to harm you. I would encourage you to press into this relationship with compassion and a desire to better understand this person, obviously while maintaining appropriate boundaries. Sure, as Christians we must be ready to dust our sandals off and move on, but do not respond in kind. You may have a unique opportunity to encourage healing for this person.
Keep up the good work and the good fight