"The thing about icebergs is..."
That's a quote from one of my favorite movies. Big Fish is a story of a father and son that hardly know one another because the father has always told his life's story in tall tales. The son is in desperate need of some closure before the father dies, so he's begging for the true stories instead of the fanciful tales of his youth. So, he's talking to his father about icebergs. He explains that only 10% of it is above the water, the rest is under the surface. He details that the father has only ever shown him 10% of who he really is, but now he wants to see what's underneath. He wants to know the good and the bad the right and the wrong. But the father resists. He doesn't want to tell the true stories of his life because they really aren't that interesting. That story reminds me of all human nature. We don't want other people to see the real us, the true stories, because what if they see them and find us lacking?So my battle lately and in my recent past is comparison. I know that when I fall into that pit that I am not only sinning because I am dishonoring God and his creation (namely me) but I am also living in a lie. When we get caught up in an attitude of comparison we are believing lies.
1 Samuel 16:7 says "...The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
We are believing that what we see is the whole and total truth. In actuality we are only seeing the top 10% of the truth. But, God, he sees everything from the top 10% down to the last ice crystal. God sees our heart when we post those pictures of our best moments. Are we celebrating the blessings He has given to us, or are we trying to make other people jealous and fish for compliments? God knows which one is in our heart. When we check our Facebook page are we keeping up with our friends or are we trying to see if we are doing better than they are? God knows which one is in our hearts.
What I have come to see is that I have to ask God for eyes to see like He sees. I have to pray for a heart that seeks to be more like Jesus. That way when I look at my Facebook page I can celebrate my friends successes with an honest heart. When I pray for a heart more like Jesus, then when I post I'm not trying to make others jealous or compare my life to theirs, but rather trying to give God the glory for where He has brought me.
Honestly, it's hard. I'm not even saying that I've got it under control myself. I am saying that the only way to fight the comparison battle on social media and in our daily lives is to ask God for the right heart, because no matter what I say or do He's going to know what my true intentions really were. I also try to remember that no matter how big of a mess I think I've made of things I can always find the #GodSuper in every situation. Please comment below how God has blessed your mess and shown just how #GodSuper He really is.
Comments
Post a Comment