I'm in the process of writing a 21-day devotional for mamas, (only 4 more entries to go) and I wanted to share another excerpt with you today.
This one is about comparison. Whew, you ready?! Here we go...
Day 17: What You Consume
We won’t be talking about food consumption in this devotion- not calling out any food habits today! Rather, we will dive deep into what we consume with our eyes and our ears.
I feel safe to say all of us will feel hit at home with this one. We’ll start with a question… What do you immediately think of when I say the words, social media?
A lot of us do our shopping there or at least get inspiration for the things we want to buy, but I feel like shopping isn’t the word that comes to mind right away. The word I venture to say does come to mind is comparison.
If you had asked a mama who raised her babies in the 70’s, (you could even ask your mama if you can) if she ever compared herself to another mother who lived in a different state, her answer would be, no.
We live in a world where we can instantly look at the highlight reel of thousands of other mamas who live in different states and even different countries! It can be a good thing and it can also be extremely dangerous.
We have instantaneous opportunities to consume endless amounts of content that can cause us to compare our clothes, our children’s clothes, our homes, the activities we do with our kids, working outside the home or not, and more, to other mamas.
This is hard, my friend.
It’s so easy to consume all of that and feel like you suck at being a mom. There is really only one solution to not playing the comparison game: Consume less of the world and more of Jesus.
This solution isn’t meant to sound hokey- it’s the absolute simple truth. It’s the truth that has always been and always will be.
Right now, the problem is social media, and years later, the problem will be something different. The solution to the problem will never change. We need more of Jesus.
But, what does more of Jesus really mean? Jesus is the Word of God. One practical way we can have more of Jesus is to spend less time on social media and more time in the Bible.
Whatever you focus on gets bigger. Philippians 4:8 says, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
If your newsfeed is full of people that trigger comparison in you, that’s on you. We have the ability to remove anything from our social media that we do not want to see on a regular basis.
Right now, the ads coming through my newsfeed are full of dog training tips and dog teething toys- that’s the kind of content I’m consuming the most right now! The algorithm knows that and sends me ads related to what I’m consuming.
If your newsfeed is full of blogger moms that make you feel about two inches tall, then unfollow the blogger moms. We can’t really blame the blogger mom, and I’m not even “picking on” being a blogger mom- I’m a mama who blogs and shares what I love on social media, too.
Here’s the truth… We are the ones that put people on a pedestal- they don’t do it themselves. And if you have no issues comparing yourself to another mom that you follow, then awesome. But, if someone you follow is causing you to start down a rabbit hole of comparison, it’s time to hit the unfollow button.
God sent your children to you. He knit their unique spirit into your womb. While you are not a perfect mom because no one is, you are the very best for your children.
What you consume will change the way you parent. We make thousands of decisions every day, and a great deal of those decisions are based on influence. It’s incredible to have access to endless resources at our fingertips, but it is so important that we keep ourselves sensitive to the Holy Spirit and what He wants us to do with our kids.
Wisdom is the greatest gift. In 1 Kings 3, God asked Solomon what he wanted, and Solomon asked God for wisdom- he could’ve literally asked the Creator and Giver of all good things for anything, and that’s what he chose. That’s because Solomon knew that wisdom is the foundation for everything good.
Read: Philippians 4:8, 1 Kings 3:1-15, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Peter 3:3, 2 Timothy 3:16
Take Action: Are you spending too much time consuming content that triggers comparison in you? Make a plan to put down your phone and pick up your Bible- ask the Holy Spirit to help you.
My devotional will release in ebook form on November 18th! To get on the pre-order list, click this link: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/636015d798fa5fbdfe298306
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