Collective: Finding Life TogetherSample

Do other people like me? Do I even like myself?

Social media can create a culture of comparison. It’s like a digital scoreboard that never sleeps. We get caught in the trap of comparing how many likes our photos got versus someone else’s. We see a group of friends post a picture of themselves hanging out and wonder—Why wasn’t I invited? Why do I feel so alone? 

Here’s what we’ve got to realize: What’s digital can often be deceitful. We’re comparing our whole lives to a snapshot of someone else’s. A filtered feed can make us think everyone else has their lives together while we struggle behind the scenes. In reality, the people we think have it together probably feel the same struggle we do. We just don’t see that part. 

That’s why we’ve got to stop comparing and competing. Jesus taught us a lot about this in Matthew 9:36. In that story, Jesus saw a crowd of people, and He felt deep compassion for them. 

Now let’s get honest. When you see a crowd of people—do you feel compassion or do you feel competition? 

If we see competition, we won’t have compassion, and if we don’t have compassion, we’ll lose our connection. 

So let’s stop this endless cycle of comparison and instead choose to embrace our identity in Christ. What does that even look like? 

Your identity isn’t based on your feelings but on the filling of the Holy Spirit. When you follow Jesus, the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead lives inside of you. So on days when you feel like you’re not enough, you can remember that feelings change, but our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And because of what Jesus did for us, God doesn’t see your sin, He sees His Son. 

You are made in the image of God. You carry the Holy Spirit inside of you. On your worst days or your best days, God loves you, He is for you, and He chose you. When you don’t feel it, read God’s Word anyway. Make daily affirmations rooted in Scripture to remind you who God says you are. 

When you know who you are, you can stop comparing and start celebrating the unique ways God made every single one of us. 

Consider: How can you stop comparing and start celebrating others in your life? What steps do you need to take to start really believing who God says you are? 

Pray: God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for Your grace and Your love. Help me start knowing and believing what You say about me. Help me stop comparing myself with others and start celebrating the people around me. Give me compassion for myself and for others around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.