Isn’t it absurd how we so often measure our worth based on what we see on our screens? I know I’ve fallen victim to thinking that I’m not good enough based on something that I saw on social media, and I bet you’ve felt that way too.
Maybe it’s the photos of other women. Photos that highlight their styled hair, clear skin and glossy lips. Photos that show off a fit body dressed in cute clothes. Maybe those photos make you feel like you’re not good enough, not pretty enough because you’re carrying around a few extra pounds. And your hair isn’t even washed and you’ve been wearing the same sweatpants for three days (because sometimes that’s just mom-life, right?)
Or maybe you are that woman with pretty hair and cute clothes, but those photos of mamas with their babies make you feel unworthy because you are still waiting for a baby of your own. Maybe it leaves you thinking that you must not deserve to be a mom. That you’re not good enough to be a mom because you haven’t yet been blessed with babies.
Maybe it’s the photos of happily married couples that make you feel like a failure as your own marriage seems to be falling apart. Or maybe you’re still waiting for “the one” and wonder if you even have anything to offer someone else. Your looks and personality and accomplishments don’t seem to measure up and you think you must not be worthy of attention from another.
Or maybe you are that happily married couple, but you see the photos of other couples whose lives are filled with luxury vacations, fancy cars, and successful careers. It can leave you feeling inadequate as your lives don’t look nearly as successful as theirs. Maybe all you have is a used car and a one bedroom apartment and you’ve never been on a real vacation; you feel inferior because of your seemingly lower status in life.
Maybe it’s the photos of someone’s beautiful home, a home that looks luxurious and squeaky clean, and suddenly you’re not good enough because you don’t have the right home in the right neighborhood. Suddenly you aren’t living up to the standards of society with a custom home and landscaped yard.
Or maybe you are the one who lives in that beautiful home, but the only thing that fills it is loneliness. Maybe you see those holiday photos of homes filled with children and grandchildren, and you feel unworthy because no one comes to visit you. Maybe you figure you must not be worth anyone else’s time.
Maybe it’s not even someone else’s photo that leaves you feeling inadequate, maybe it’s your own. The one you posted on social media that no one noticed or “liked.” The photos and words that you posted for the world to see suddenly become meaningless as you watch the post of another go viral.
Or maybe you are the one whose post has gone viral, but the extra attention has led to vicious attacks and criticism. Maybe you are left feeling unworthy based on someone else’s negative response to your words, your image, your life.
If we are basing our worth by what we see on social media, we will never, ever be good enough. There is always someone who is doing more or has more. There is always someone who looks better or whose life is better. Or at least that’s how it looks when we log in to our social media accounts. But when we allow our value to be dictated by the messages we get from our screens, we miss the value of the messages found in the pages of scripture.
The truth is that we are valuable no matter who we are or who we aren’t. If God didn’t consider us valuable, we wouldn’t have been created in the first place. If our lives were not valuable, what reason would there have been for Him to save us from the depths of sin? So, whether you’re in sweatpants or skinny jeans, single or married, popular or unpopular, you are valuable wherever God has placed you in this life.
Very simply, we matter. All of us. There is purpose and importance attached to each of our lives, despite the negative messages that we so often internalize.
Luke 12:6-7(ESV) Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.
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