The Hustle Gospel: Lies of Work and Worthనమూనా

YOU ARE WHO YOU KNOW: THE LIE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

Do you have your digital device in your hand constantly? Do you crave “likes” or comments on your post on social media? When you live for human approval, you become enslaved to human opinion. The new currency is human validation. In the old economy, money was currency. In the Hustle culture, validation is currency. We're constantly earning it, spending it, hoarding it, and panicking when we don't have enough.

Research reveals our addiction to social capital. A 2023 study by the American Psychological Association found that 72% of young adults check social media within an hour of waking up, not for information, but to see how their posts performed overnight.

What is this doing to us? Our worth fluctuates like the stock market. Being unknown means being worthless. Our value to God depends on our worth to people. Spiritually, it makes us dependent on fickle human approval rather than God’s stable love. It turns us into performers rather than beloved children. It makes us users rather than servants of people. It builds our identities into things that can be taken away.

One of the great sins Paul is addressing in Galatians 1:10 is one that’s mentioned throughout the whole bible, the sin of people pleasing. Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare …” (NIV). The word fear in the Old Testament and in the Bible in general does not just mean to be frightened of. Fear of God is something that’s good. Fear of man is not. Fear of God does not mean you’re scared of him. It means you’re in awe and you’re attracted to him. You’re amazed by him. You’re worshiping him. If we fear man and desire his approval, we put man in God’s place. We make an idol out of other people’s approval.

Ask Yourself: Which answer most closely reflects who you are right now?

How am I Performing?

-Slaves to approval feel the constant pressure to perform.

-Secure children are loved regardless of performance.

Where do I find my worth?

-Slaves to approval attach their value solely to their usefulness to the network.

-Secure children have inherent worth beyond their usefulness.

What is truth to me?

-Slaves to approval have to read the room and adjust their words accordingly.

-Secure children can speak the truth regardless of the reception they will get.

Where do I find my security?

-Slaves to approval can be discarded when they no longer bring value to the cause.

-Secure children will never be discarded or canceled by a loving God.

Pause to Pray: Read Matthew 6:1-6. Ask God to reveal to you that your worth is in him and not in human approval.

Identity Reset: Replace "I am who I know" with "I am approved by God.” Write down one relationship or platform where you've been seeking validation or building your identity on social connections. Complete this sentence:

"Even if I never gained another follower/connection/endorsement from _______, I am still fully approved and loved by God because _________"