Is it a sin to want to be popular?

from the old testament

• God created men and women in His image (Genesis 1:26–27) so we would glorify Him by showing who He is and what He is like. After we sinned (Genesis 3), corruption and sin entered humanity. One result was that we began desiring to be the ones glorified.
• In Isaiah, we get a glimpse of Satan’s heart just before he fell. We read, “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14:12–15). Pride is self-glorification and causes us to think highly of ourselves. When we do, we sinfully desire others to also think highly of us. In Satan’s case, he wanted to be like God Himself. In our pride, we often have a similarly exalted view of ourselves. Just like pride led to Satan’s downfall, Proverbs warns that it will also lead to ours (Proverbs 16:18).
• The “fear of man” is the desire to be thought well of by others. When Saul was caught sinning, he said, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (1 Samuel 15:24). He was acknowledging that he had ignored God’s command because he was more concerned about pleasing the Israelites.
• “The fear of man lays a snare” (Proverbs 29:25a). It is a trap because, as we compromise what is true, we are undermining truth and will get caught by our own compromises.
• Scripture does not condemn popularity. Some individuals, such as King David, were popular without trying to be popular (1 Samuel 18:5–7). However, wanting to be popular is a desire to receive glory from others. Yet, our desire should be that God is glorified (Psalm 115:1).

from the new testament

• Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, explained why they did not believe. He asked them, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44). Desiring to be popular is us seeking glory from others rather than from God.
• Jesus warned that even doing righteous things for the sake of popularity is sin. He said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). Pride rots even good things when one does “good” to be popular. The desire for popularity pollutes the good with self-glorification.
• Paul, speaking to church members, warned them against seeking the more prominent gifts. He said there was nothing wrong with the greater gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31), but the issue was that they desired them in a way that elevated themselves before others. Paul rebuked them, saying, “[do] not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). It is not our place to choose the best gifts for ourselves. The Holy Spirit distributes them as He desires (1 Corinthians 12:11) for God’s glory.
• In yet another account, we learn that some rulers believed in Jesus but were unwilling to say anything “so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:42b–43). “Fear of man” leads to compromise. In this case, the rulers were more worried about being shunned than about following Jesus. When we seek popularity to be accepted, we are valuing others over God.
• In fact, Paul, in his strong letter to the Galatians condemning their Gospel compromise, said, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). Seeking to please others by compromising the truth means we aren’t serving Christ because He said that following Him would be costly (Luke 9:23) and bring the disapproval and hatred of others (John 13:12–15).
• Our goal should be to glorify God, not ourselves. Jesus provided an example of what that means by washing the disciples' feet (John 13:12–15). As the one deserving the most glory, He humbled Himself to serve others. We are also to be humble to glorify Christ. Seeking popularity is the opposite of that, seeking to be first or to be accepted even at the cost of our faith.

implications for today

No one enjoys being an outcast! We all want to be liked, and we live in a world that says that if we wear the right clothes, put on the right makeup, and support the right causes, we will be popular.

While it is unbiblical to be filled with self-loathing, it is also unbiblical to desire to be the center of attention. That is because being liked by the world often means liking what it likes. Since the world prioritizes fleshly, anti-God things and ideas (1 John 2:15–16), being popular in its eyes generally means being like it and doing what God frowns upon.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus summed up the Law as loving God with all our being and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39). To love God with all our being is to make Him the center of our attention and to seek His approval over the world’s approval. To love others as ourselves is to prioritize their well-being over our own, even to the point of jeopardizing our popularity by helping them! In short, loving God and neighbor means sacrificially helping others know God through our lives and words. It is difficult to be the popular kid while also being the humble, God-honoring one!

Jesus taught that following Him is hard. It is hard because the world hates Him and hates those who obey Him (John 15:18–19). Following Jesus is the best decision you can make. But before following Him, we encourage you to count the cost (Luke 14:26–28). One such cost is that following Him leads away from the path to popularity. You must make a decision: do you serve yourself or do you serve Christ?