We would much rather turn the other cheek and let our boundaries be pushed than stand up for what we really believe in. Morals are seen as rules and self-worth is seen as pride. And frankly, you really can't win if you're immersed in the midst of it all. If you drink a lot you're a lowlife but if you don't you're no fun. If you have sex you're a slut but if you don't you're a prude. If you're thin you're too skinny but if you're big boned you're too fat. How on earth have we gotten to this??? Somehow, social media and Hollywood has over time warped our view of reality to the point where we believe that what we see in magazines or movies are reality. And hey, myself included.
I think Instagram has a huge impact on our perception of reality. I know this first hand. About 6 months ago, I wanted to workout more and eat healthier so I decided to follow some workout pages to get some inspiration and motivation. Next thing I know I am following 40+ "Fit Girl", "Abs of Steel", and "Healthy Low Carb Meals" pages and I'm comparing myself to every photoshopped girl, stomach, thigh gap, and salad guru I see, and it was horrible! I would look in the mirror and rather than seeing the 120lbs girl that I am, I would see a warped 200lbs version of myself, because I didn't have a 6 inch thigh gap or washboard abs. I got to the point where I was never comfortable in anything that I wore, and regretted everything I ate. Finally, I was fed up with feeling crappy all the time, so I decided to unfollow ALL the 40+ fit/healthy pages and followed pages like "Wisdomfeed", "Dailybibleverses" and "thegospeldaily"... And that is when I started to see some improvement... I started see myself for what I really looked like, and started to have more confidence in who God has called me to be. Now I'm not saying that eating healthy and working out is bad, I still have fitness goals and try to eat healthy, but I no longer find my worth in what I look like and what I eat, but I find my worth in what God says about me.
Psalm 139:14
"... I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (NIV)
This is just a small example of the grand issue we are facing as a society. So guys, unfollow pages like "HotGirls", and girls, unfollow pages like "CoupleGoals" & "BikiniBodyCoach" because these photos that we are obsessing over aren't even close to reality!!
So what / who are you "following"?
Only you can make the decision to "unfollow" toxic areas of your life; whether its Insta pages, bad relationships, or others opinions... Whatever it is, we all have them-I know I do-but we have to consciously every day make the decision to "unfollow" others opinions and "follow" the one opinion that actually matters.
Romans 8:1
"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (NLT)
Ephesians 2:4-5
"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead (it is only by God's grace that you have been saved!). (NLT)