Click. Post.
A ‘self portrait’ for all to see.
“How many likes do I have?”
“How many people have commented?”
“Were my words perfect?”
“Did I use the right filter, the right lighting, the right pose, the right editing?”
“How can I convey myself, my life, my things, in the most perfect way possible?”
“What image am I giving off of myself to the world?”
Social media can be like a rabbit hole… Like Alice, we get sucked down to a Wonderland that doesn’t resemble anything of real life.
The chains it can have on us start wrapping around us slowly – so slowly that at first, we don’t notice them… until they get so tight they start to suffocate us.
Until one day, our self worth is wrapped up in how many ‘likes’ we get, our offenses pile up at the latest political posts we don’t agree with, and comparison ravages us like a wild pack of wolves.
Until we forget the truth that comparison is the thief of joy and that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
I’m guilty of it. I’ve fallen into the trap time and time again. I found myself constantly checking Facebook and Instagram even this morning! And it hasn’t been until the race – when I’ve lived months without wifi and a phone and started to see the contrast of living with constant internet and without. Although I still fail, I’ve started to realize the dangers of social media – how it can rob our dignity, shatter our self-worth, and build our identity on something as flimsy as a house of cards.
So, before we post that picture or check our notifications for the 15th time… Let’s check our hearts to make sure we’re getting the fuel for our self worth from the fuel station and not other people. Learning to find that quiet space where God can minister to our souls and fill us up to the point where the goodness He’s given us overflows onto others. That we’re being vulnerable about our struggles and inviting others into that space. That we’re not causing our brothers and sisters to stumble through images on social media. That we’re realizing what is really important, and that we aren’t taking a second away from that to be looking at a screen.
