Ready:
“For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” -Galatians 1:10
Set:
After every season of basketball, I would make a highlight video of all my best plays. That video made me look really good. Of course, I didn’t include any of the missed shots or turnovers. I knew the mistakes that I made in each game, but the people watching that video didn’t. They only saw what I wanted them to see.
The problem is that we compare everyone’s highlight reels to our mistakes. We compare other people’s filtered lives to our unfiltered lives. It’s the perfect tactic from the enemy because comparison has always been the thief of joy.
Social media steals our attention from God. It distracts us from who God is. It distracts us from what God says about us. And it distracts us from how we are called to live.
Jesus’ disciple Peter didn’t have social media, but he struggled with this exact thing. Peter is face to face with the resurrected Jesus, having the conversation of a lifetime, until he sees someone else. “So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, ‘Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about him?’ ‘If I want him to remain until I come,’ Jesus answered, ‘what is that to you? As for you, follow me’" (John 21:20-22).
Every time Peter takes his eyes off Jesus, he loses sight of who God says he is. This happens to us all the time. We scroll on social media and get so worried about what God is doing in everyone else’s life that we miss what God wants to do in our own lives. We worry more about our followers than following Jesus.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus and His great love, compassion and grace, we stand on a solid foundation and are reminded of His constant presence, not on our ever-changing situations. We must keep our eyes on Jesus. Only when we do that will we fully see the promises and perfect plan that God has for us and our lives.
Go:
Where have you been fixing your eyes: on Jesus, or social media? How can you shift your perspective and be reminded of Jesus today?
How might Jesus be inviting you to fix your eyes on Him?
Take a break from social media for a week. Use that time to get outside, call a friend, or read your Bible. See how your perspective and heart are after that time.
Workout:
Overtime:
“Lord, thank You that You have called me to keep my eyes on You. Thank You for reminding me that I don’t need to make myself look good or compare myself to other people. Help me gain confidence and receive the peace that comes in keeping my perspective and eyes on Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.”