The algorithm trains us to react. Jesus trains us to notice.

The Algorithm & Jesus

Show me your social media feed, and I can see into your soul. -

Okay, okay, dramatic… but I’m not wrong…

Let me let you in on a little secret: social media, “the algorithm,” and your personal feed are fueled by what it thinks you want to see. With the introduction of AI, it’s like having a personal hype person in your pocket. It tells you what you want to hear and keeps building on what it thinks you value. The more you watch, the more you engage, the more you interact with a certain type of content, the more it feeds you. Over time, the algorithm narrows our view until the world feels black and white, urgent, heavy, and loud.

Don’t get me wrong, I love social media. I use it daily in my work and help others use it to get their message across. It’s a great tool for marketing and sharing information. But the goal is always the same: keep your attention, stir emotion, and move you to act.

If you’re still here, it worked. 

Don’t worry, I’m not selling anything.

Lately, I’ve found myself scrolling more than usual, and I can feel it. More weight. More opinions. More things I can’t fix but somehow feel responsible for carrying.

And here is a hill I am willing to die on. We were not meant to carry the weight of the whole world. Once upon a time, we knew the struggles of our neighbors, not the constant crises of everywhere all at once. 

Which makes me think of the Good Samaritan story. In Luke, a man is beaten and left half dead. A couple of religious leaders walk right past him. They even cross the street to avoid him. Not because they were necessarily cruel people, but because they were focused on their position, not compassion for the person right in front of them. (Luke 10: 29 - 37)

The Samaritan noticed. He stopped. He saw a person, not a problem or a position.

And I wonder how often our opinions, our feeds, and our constant consumption distract us from seeing people as people.

What if the greatest act of faith today isn’t having the loudest opinion, but actually seeing the person right in front of you?