In recent surveys among teens and young adults, the most desired and wished-for careers people selected as their dream career was to be a YouTuber or a social media influencer. Of all the jobs which exist, online influencers and producers of video content topped the list, even above the options of sports stars, scientists, actors, and even astronauts. This represents a major shift and departure from the answers which would have topped the list twenty and even ten years ago. The reason these types of careers have become so popular among this age range is that there is a perception that within this career (along with a generous paycheck) there also includes a platform, popularity, influence, and a place for opinions to be seen and heard by a wide and supportive audience. People in this age range aren't so much interested in the job itself as much as they are interested in what they perceive comes with a career in that field.

While there is nothing wrong with desiring a certain job or position, it is dangerous to have an unhealthy obsession with elevating your own name, becoming popular, famous, or having a platform at any cost. It is this unhealthy obsession and pursuit that can lead people to lie, cheat, steal and compromise their values to achieve the deepest desires in their hearts. Many lives have been destroyed because of such pursuits. James tells us in verse ten that those who humble themselves before the Lord will be lifted up. This statement sounds so simple, yet is completely upside down to the world we live in. So often, in our culture, we adopt these views which are completely backward compared to God's word. We are taught that if we want to be lifted up, we need to do everything we can in our own strength and power to be lifted and elevated above those around us. We will put others down, compromise our convictions, and do whatever it takes in the hustle to be elevated. But what if we took God's word for the truth it is? Scripture tells us that the Lord will elevate those who humble themselves and seek to serve instead of seeking to be served. What a world we would live in if everyone chose to serve instead of being served.

It is this submission before God which is actually an active resistance to the Devil and the pride he desires to fill your heart with. A heart filled with pride is a sinful, double-minded heart in desperate need of washing and purifying. Humbling yourself before the Lord will be one of the most difficult things you will ever do in your life, but in the end, God promises that He will lift you up. Take some time to meditate on this idea and take an honest evaluation of your own life. Are you humbling yourself so that God will lift you up, or are you living a life where you seek to be elevated at the expense of others?