If you are a follower you will be one of these.  A follower is one that follows the opinions or teachings of another.  One that imitates another.  Or one who subscribes to a feed especially on social media.

To protect yourself as a follower, you first need to recognize that you are a follower.  Some people are leaders.  Followers go along with the crowd.  Followers don’t initiate action, they usually wait till someone else initiates it and then they go along.  They usually don’t make good leaders because they are waiting for someone else to tell them what to do.

What to do if you are a follower.

Follow the Lord, Eph 5:1.  Follow the word of God.  Read it, believe it, and obey it.  Follow Jesus, who leads you through the Holy Spirit, Jn 21:22, Rom 8:14.  Get used to listening for him as he speaks through his words and through your spirit.  Obey him when he shows you what he wants you to do.

Follow the right people, Heb 13:7.  Paul said, “Be ye followers of me”, 1 Cor 11:1.  You can follow any man along the right road, 1 Tim 4:12.  Just don’t follow him when he gets off the right road, Gal 2:11-13.  This is where your parents, Sunday school teacher, youth pastor, pastor, and godly friends come in.  If you are hanging around people who are worldly, they will lead you astray.

Follow righteousness, 1 Tim 6:11. Integrity, Prov 11:3, and righteousness, Prov 11:5, will lead you. Follow godliness, that which is good, 3 Jn 11.  Follow faith, we walk not by sight. Also, follow love which will lead you way from the love of the world.  And follow patience, because he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.  Follow meekness, this submissive obedience will keep you in the will of God.  These are all excellent to follow if you are a follower or even if you aren’t.

Once you violate your integrity when following the wrong person or group, you might decide that you like what you have just experienced and decide that you want more.  You get a taste of the pleasure of sin.  And then you allow yourself to follow someone that can give you more of what you want.  Finally, you end up with more than you bargained for, 2 Pet 2:18-22

Follow your escape strategy, 1 Cor 10:13.  You must know your own weaknesses here and bail out when things start going in the wrong direction. This strategy helps you get out if the person you are following starts going in the wrong direction.  Run away.

Conclusion: There is nothing wrong with being a follower.  We need good followers. But there is something wrong with being a  follower who will follow anybody anywhere.  If you are a follower who stands for nothing you will fall for anything.