Just like the apples and the oranges are our lives. Social media is huge and widely growing every single day. Millions of people post the best things about their lives in order to make it seem like they have the best life and that everything is perfect. Millions of people believe that their lives should be like the millions of people posting amazing pictures. Millions of people are comparing their lives to others. It's as simple as that.
I will tell you, I am guilty of it myself. I am not going to sit behind my computer screen and act like I am perfect. It doesn't affect my life, it just causes me to think. About two months ago I decided that I was going to step away from social media. You might think, you post something about everyday. Yes, I do post. I only post, I don't scroll through IG, Twitter, or Facebook. I have learned so much in my time staying away from those things. You free up your mind more than anything. Social media is a place where you see a lot of things that are of this world. You see a lot of pictures that you probably shouldn't be seeing on a daily basis. Social media has this "look at me, and my great life," imagine. It's human nature for people to find other people attractive. When I was on IG I see a lot of attractive people on there. I believe that my girlfriend is the most beautiful girl in the entire world. The moment I stopped scrolling through IG that belief turned into more than just a belief. It goes way beyond that now. I say that because she is all I see and that is where my focus is and she is what is on my phone.
I know I make it sound like social media is bad and I am not indenting to that. I know that social media can be used for positive and uplifting things. All I am trying to say is that social media can cause you to compare yourself to others and occupy your mind, time, and energy on things that you shouldn't totally be occupied with.
One thing that people are scared about is being disconnected from their friends and whatever else is going on. Yeah that might be tough for a lot of people, but it is really not that bad. It's actually very nice. All my time and energy are used on the things that have importance in my life. I am not saying the people I am connected with on social media aren't important to me, I just don't think that what the people I am connected with share on social media is totally necessary for me. I don't need to see what is going on in their lives in order for me to continue to live my life. If that makes sense....
So what is wrong with comparison? If you think about it, comparison is race with no finish line. We are all so completely different, that we will never be alike. God made each and every person special, unique, beautiful, and in his own image. He knit us together in our mother's womb. To compare ourselves to other people is such a waste of time and energy. Again, it's okay to look up to someone and to want to have certain qualities that they have, but you can't compare.
When you look at comparison there are a couple of ways that Satan tries to lure you in. Satan tries to use the desires you have about the world to lure you into a comparison game.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)
The thief comes only to do those things and nothing more. God came so that we may have life and have it abundantly.
There are four lures that Satan uses:
1. If I could...
2. If only I had...
3. I wish I was...
4. Real success is...
How real is it to feel these things? Satan uses them every single day to try to lure you in and make you one with the world. I mean how easy is to feel these things when scrolling through social media sometimes?
- You see a vacation picture from the beach -> you want to be at the beach
- You see an outfit or some shoes you want -> the outfits you have and the shoes that you have are not enough anymore
- You see what someone is spending a lot of money on -> you immediately think...if I could...
- You see a picture of someone on the nicest hotel with a drink in their hand -> we think that is what success is like
See my point? Satan uses things that look like they would fulfill you to think that you aren't good enough. On one end we are in this battle and on the other, God is saying..."Come, follow me."
And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19)
All we have to do is follow Jesus! He's right there with open arms.
"What causes quarrels and what causes fights amount you? It is not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so your murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with world is enmity with God?" (James 4:1-4)
There are a couple of things about that passage in John that sticks out to me. We often have desires, but we don't have. We yearn to posses or have something that we cannot obtain, which leads to fights and quarrels. Basically...there are so many things we don't know because we don't ask. All of these things I just mentioned lead to enmity with God. I don't know about you but I do not want enmity with God.
~ enmity: to actively oppose against someone or something. ~
What is the solution I am proposing? I am going to give you scripture, so that what I said wasn't just objective.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4: 7-10)
I love this scripture so much and it is a great solution to the comparison game. When you get caught up in the comparison game, submit yourself to God and resist the devil. When you resist the devil he will flee from you. When you get lured in by the devil, remember to draw near to God and He will purify your heart. Sometimes we have to mourn and weep. We have to humble ourselves before God in order to be exalted. So if stepping away from the comparison game and focusing on yourself is what you have to do, you will humble yourself and when you humble yourself you will then be exalted. To me, is sounds like the best possible solution to ending the comparison game.
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