not starstruck
we are partners, service providers, advocates. we are not fans.
this is a foundational posture for everyone who works under the imagos banner.
the platforms we are building against are rooted in idolatry. instagram runs on envy. celebrity culture runs on worship of humans. the entire entertainment industrial complex is designed to create fans: people who consume, follow, admire from a distance, and pour their attention into someone else's image.
if we are trying to shift people into a different value system, we cannot embody the previous one. you cannot build divine principle first design infrastructure while internally operating on the same star worship that made the old system toxic.
what this looks like in practice
you can appreciate people. you can see their gifts. you can give specific, grounded compliments. "that hat is fire." "that verse you wrote hit different." "the way you handled that meeting was masterful." that is recognition. recognition is healthy. recognition is seeing someone clearly.
you cannot be starstruck. the moment you are in awe of someone's status, fame, or cultural position, you have placed them on a pedestal that belongs to God. and from that position, you cannot serve them. you can only orbit them. orbiting is useless. orbiting is fan behavior.
the distinction matters because imagos works with people who have real cultural gravity. artists, founders, movement leaders. some of them are used to being surrounded by fans. some of them expect it. our job is to be the people in the room who are not impressed by status and are instead locked in on the work.
why this matters for the mission
the divine creative mandate is about honoring creatives. honoring is the opposite of idolizing. honoring means seeing someone's God-given gift clearly and building infrastructure that lets it flourish. idolizing means placing them above you in a hierarchy that God did not establish.
when you idolize someone, you cannot tell them the truth. you cannot push back on a bad idea. you cannot hold them accountable. you become a yes-man. and yes-men kill projects.
when you honor someone, you can serve them honestly. you can say "that idea is not ready." you can say "this partnership is wrong for you." you can be the person in the room who cares more about the outcome than the relationship. that is what a real partner does.
we are the rick rubin in the room. "i'm not the superpower; you're the superpower." but rick rubin was never starstruck. he was present, clear-eyed, and honest. that is the posture.
the rule
if you find yourself starstruck by anyone you are working with through imagos, check yourself. that feeling is a signal that you have placed a human where God belongs. correct it internally before it corrupts your judgment externally.
we reserve the pedestal for God. everyone else gets respect, honesty, and service.
related: the divine creative mandate | philosophy