11. Is Being Popular Really Worth It?

Rachel was the most popular girl in school. She was beautiful. She had a massive friend group that adored her. She had the most popular guy in our grade swooning over her. Rachel was…perfect. 

Or so it seemed. 

Rachel made it her job in life to make my life and I’m sure many other’s lives miserable. She would take that time to make fun of me and call me names, something I sadly had to get used to. 

She even went so far as to start a rumor about me saying that I started a rumor that Josh, the most popular guy in our grade, and I were dating. I remember the day very well. I walked into my classroom. 

CJ stormed up to me and he was mad. He couldn’t believe that someone that he saw as a nobody would actually spread a rumor like that, and he let me know. It was a nightmare. Not only was I humiliated, but I was furious. If I can be honest, I didn’t even like CJ because he was so arrogant and then for him to yell in my face in front of the class, it was a nightmare. 

As you can tell by this story, I was not one of the popular kids. I honestly never cared to be.

See, with Rachel, she seemed like she had it all together. She had put on a mask of beauty and perfection. One thing I didn’t realize, though, was that Rachel was hurting on the inside. 

I don’t know her full story of what was going on in her life, but what I do know is the summer after middle school, Rachel had to move. She left behind all of her horses, her friends, her perfect life and had to start over. 

I saw Rachel a couple years later at a high school function, and she had completely changed. She was no longer popular. Instead, she was insecure and lonely. She was living a life that I had never thought I would have seen from her. I didn’t get to talk to her that day, but a part of me wishes I could go back and encourage her.

Popularity…it’s one of those things that many of us wish we could have. 

We want to feel like we’re beautiful. We want to feel like we are valuable. We want to fit in. We want to have friends. We want to feel like we belong.  It’s a sense that all of us have on the inside of us. 

What is it that makes being popular so enticing? What is it that makes someone popular?

Is it because they have a massive friend group? Is it because everyone around them seems to adore them? Their life seems perfect.

But do these popular kids really have it all together? Are they really as perfect as we make them out to be? Or is there something else going on behind the scenes?

We all have a love shortage on the inside of us. Popularity pretends to fill that shortage for a while, but in the long run, it’s never really satisfying. The only one who can truly fill that void is Jesus.

How do we overcome the struggles of wanting to be popular? 

Check out this week's episode to find out more!

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