Easter Thursday - Jesus doesn’t need more influencers

In a world where “living your own truth” reigns king, it can be difficult to share your faith. You might worry about coming across as pushy or salesy when sharing your beliefs—online or in real life. So how can we make Jesus seem attractive without being pushy, especially with Easter around the corner?

Rule 1 of sales: don’t try too hard, it’s suspicious

If you’ve been on Instagram or TikTok for more than five minutes, you’ve probably seen an influencer being paid to promote a product. Maybe they even had a snazzy discount code for you to try.

These days, it’s kind of uncool for influencers to be too “salesy”. So, to avoid being seen as “sold out” to corporations, they’ll use this line: “I’d never promote a product I don’t personally believe in!”

. . . Really, though?

Sure, some influencers might be telling the truth. But a lot of the time, you can tell that they’re only promoting a product to get paid or gain popularity. Why? Because they’re trying a bit too hard to sell it. This can be a huge turn-off.

Sometimes, you fall for the trap and buy the product (an often disappointing experience). But most of the time, we don’t trust influencers. If they have to try that hard to convince you to buy something, there must be something wrong with the product—right? The same is true when you’re talking about Jesus.

Rule 2 of sales: Let the product speak for itself

If a product genuinely meets needs, it will sell itself. So instead of trying to convince others that your faith is valid or even “cool”, you can simply share how Jesus has genuinely met your needs, and transformed your life. You can also actively help and share God’s love with others. By doing this, you’ll be allowing the Gospel message to speak for itself.

In the Bible, Jesus never begged people to listen to Him. He never twisted the truth or rallied a press team. And He definitely didn’t use discount codes. Even when Jesus died on the cross and rose again—the most cataclysmic event in the history of the universe—He didn’t try to sell tickets. And yet, this event split history and is still being talked about today.

Jesus didn’t need a marketing team. The way He loved others was so radical, and the peace He embodied was so complete, that His message spoke for itself. He healed physical and spiritual wounds and met needs everywhere He went, and because of that, followers flocked to Him in their thousands.

Jesus didn’t “sell” the gospel, and there’s no pressure on us to do the same. Instead, we should let the beauty of the message speak for itself. We can do this in two ways:

By sharing how Jesus has met our physical, emotional or spiritual needs.

If you’ve lost touch with this part of your story, maybe it’s time to reconnect this Easter by taking some quiet time with Jesus, participating in the communion service at Church, or reading the Easter story to remember how much He loves you.

By loving others radically, just like Jesus did

If you know someone who is struggling, you can verbally remind them of how much Jesus loves them, or you can spend time talking with them, cooking them food, supporting their family, or doing whatever it is that will meet their needs.

Remember, Jesus doesn’t need more sales reps or “influencers”. He needs more disciples who embody His teachings, want to be more like Him every day (whether they get “paid” or not), and who prioritise meeting people’s needs wherever they go.

Matthew 28:19-20

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”