Don’t Swallow Social Media’s Infectious Lie
In this social media world, it’s easy to compare ourselves and our situations to everyone else’s. They’re in our face all the time. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or whatever you use to see what the Joneses are up to, we get to see only what they want us to see. No matter the perception we allow ourselves to have, things are not always what they seem.
In a recent episode of the Next Level Podcast With Michael McIntyre, I share a story about a time I sent someone to a real estate friend for a deal. I said, “Hey Robbie, I’ve got this guy; he’s got a deal. It’s not a very big deal. It’s a small deal. Maybe a$400,000 deal.” I attempted to minimize the opportunity.
He emailed me back and said, “Hey Mike, a deal is a deal.” It’s so true!
Often, we minimize what the Lord is doing in our lives simply because, at face value, it doesn’t seem as big of a deal as what everyone else is experiencing. First of all, if we think we have everyone else figured out, we don’t. Too often we think what everyone shows us is reality. From the uploaded vacation photos on Instagram to the glamorous clothes, cars and relationships seen on their Facebook timelines. we only have access to what they want us to see. And we have somehow allowed that minimal insight to shape and form our perception. We compare those sugar-coated half-truths to our not-so-pretty realities and think we somehow fall short.
Nothing good comes from comparing ourselves to other people. This is also true in entrepreneurship. “If you are out there trying to get something going, the key word you’ve got to get out of your head is trying,” I explain in the episode. “Because what happens with trying is that it starts to become striving! And there’s no good that comes from striving.”
As we start to see others through God’s eyes, we begin to lose a desire to “Keep up with the Joneses,” and we learn to be grateful for what God has given us. His desire is for us to grow, and we can expect to go from one glory to another glory, but His timing is perfect, and His plan is worth the wait.
Listen to the podcast to learn more.
