A guy was found dead in his chair after spending three days non-stop gaming in an online-gaming café. He had died of a heart attack. It turns out it was a result of sitting still for so long, hardly sleeping and being pumped up to the eyeballs with adrenaline from the fantasy gaming action.

One square photo. One little box under our thumb that we scroll through daily.  A double tap. That’s all it takes for us to have an opinion about someone or something. 

These little squares are taken under the right light, edited with the best tools and filters and posted with witty and clever captions.

We look at them all the time! When we’re travelling, when we’re hanging out with our friends, when we’re bored. 

We see them and it sparks something inside of us. Some days it’s envy, because we wish we were doing this or going there, just like our friends. Other days it’s stress, because our lives don’t seem to be as good as the ones we see online.

The post, photos and grids become our own little worlds that we control, compare and compete with. But do we sometimes border on obsessing over Instagram? Does it
start to take over our thinking just a little too much? And is that even a big deal?

Sure, my feed is full of actual events and shows how I try to live each day. But it does not reflect my every waking moment. I have my struggles and doubts. Social media has a way of making it seem like everyone has their stuff together and their life is flawless. Don’t get caught up believing those lies. Don’t start comparing yourself to others. Just because we don’t see the bad days and struggles of these people doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Hilary

The Bible says (maybe surprisingly) that getting obsessed with stuff isn’t a bad thing. We all need something to make us feel good about who we are and where we fit. The problem is that when we get obsessed over social media, we’re looking in the wrong place.

“I can’t say I’m happy and enthusiastic all the time.  According to my Instagram feed, I look like I have it all together. I have great friends to go on weekend adventures with, new places to explore and a great brother and sister-in-law to spend time hanging out and laughing with.  And I can hold a yoga bridge pose on a paddleboard no problem!

The Bible tells us that Jesus, who is God, is the one we’re meant to be obsessed with. He said:

Jesus isn’t just a part of reality to fixate on; he is the very centre of life itself!

But how many of us can really say we want to love and listen to God above anything else? Maybe we think about him sometimes, maybe we say prayers, but our lives are our lives. And if we’re loved on Instagram, surely we’re doing fine?

But we know that’s not always true. It sucks when friends let us down, when we don’t get much love on social media, when the trolling happens, when we mess up again, when we make bad choices and stupid decisions. We know what it’s like to hurt others; even our closest friends—even ourselves. Did you realise we hurt God too—because we don’t listen to him or live how he made us to? He wants us to know a peaceful life of love, purpose and meaning. He wants us to be living our best life! But that only happens with him.

When Jesus came to earth, He suffered and died in our place. Why? Because we’ve messed up so much and deserve God’s punishment. But God doesn’t want to punish us, he wants to be with us and look after us. Jesus came to earth to die and pay the penalty for how we ignore God and mess things up.

And then he did something really amazing. He came back to life three days later. He beat death! If we’ll trust him, he brings us back to God and the “satisfying” life he offers— both now and when we die! He gives us God’s forgiveness, along with new and unending life in His family. And his home (heaven) becomes our home!

Next time you find yourself wishing your life were like so-and-so’s, remember that God knows you and has put you where you are meant to be. You are loved. You don’t need filters to make yourself look better so others will like you more. Instagram doesn’t make us who we are, only Jesus does that.

That doesn’t mean following him is easy. We’ll still have problems, sickness and stuff we probably won’t want to put on Instagram. But it means that we can still be satisfied even when those things happen, because our meaning will be based on God’s love and his promise of a place in heaven.

But following Jesus isn’t like following another person on Instagram. Jesus isn’t just an add-on to our lives. He alone is God, to be followed and loved first, making him our one good obsession. Which means Instagram and all social media can stay as they are: just stuff to enjoy. Not something to sweat over. We don’t need social media to make us feel complete—only Jesus does that! Jesus takes us just as we are, loves us and helps us grow in really great ways!

 It is a daily decision to allow him to be in charge of every part of our lives as we follow his plan, not our own. This is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult, as in all of our relationships, but we can trust that God is always good, always loves us and is always on our side.

It means we can be ourselves without apology in a world that tries to make us fit into certain personas. With Jesus, we can be the person God made us to be—fully and without fear.

The number of double taps and followers we get don’t decide who we are or how much we are worth. 

One square photo. One little box under our thumb that we scroll through daily. A double tap. That’s all it takes for us to have an opinion about someone or something. 

These little squares are taken under the right light, edited with the best tools and filters and posted with witty and clever captions.

We look at them all the time! When we’re travelling to school, when we’re hanging out with our friends, when we’re bored.

We see them and it sparks something inside of us. Some days it’s envy, because we wish we were doing this or going there, just like our friends. Other days it’s stress, because our lives don’t seem to be as good as the ones we see online.

The post, photos and grids become our own little worlds that we control, compare and compete with. But do we sometimes border on obsessing over Instagram? Does it
start to take over our thinking just a little too much? And is that even a big deal?

A guy was found dead in his chair after spending three days non-stop gaming in an online-gaming café. He had died of a heart attack. It turns out it was a result of sitting still for so long, hardly sleeping and being pumped up to the eyeballs with adrenaline from the fantasy gaming action.

Sure, my feed is full of actual events and shows how Itry to live each day. But it does not reflect my every waking moment. I have my struggles and doubts. Social media has a way of making it seem like everyone has their stuff together and their life is flawless. Don’t get caught up believing those lies. Don’t start comparing yourself to others. Just because we don’t see the bad days and struggles of these people doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Hilary

The Bible says (maybe surprisingly) that getting obsessed with stuff isn’t a bad thing. We all need something to make us feel good about who we are and where we fit. The problem is that when we get obsessed over social media, we’re looking in the wrong place.

“I can’t say I’m happy and enthusiastic all the time. According to my Instagram feed, I look like I have it all together. I have great friends to go on weekend adventures with, new places to explore and a great brother and sister-in-law to spend time hanging out and laughing with. And I can hold a yoga bridge pose on a paddleboard no problem!

The Bible tells us that Jesus, who is God, is the one we’re meant to be obsessed with. He said:

When Jesus came to earth, He suffered and died in our place. Why? Because we’ve messed up so much and deserve God’s punishment. But God doesn’t want to punish us, he wants to be with us and look after us. Jesus came to earth to die and pay the penalty for how we ignore God and mess things up.

And then he did something really amazing. He came back to life three days later. He beat death! If we’ll trust him, he brings us back to God and the “satisfying” life he offers— both now and when we die! He gives us God’s forgiveness, along with new and unending life in His family. And his home (heaven) becomes our home!

Next time you find yourself wishing your life were like so-and-so’s, remember that God knows you and has put you where you are meant to be. You are loved. You don’t need filters to make yourself look better so others will like you more. Instagram doesn’t make us who we are, only Jesus does that.

That doesn’t mean following him is easy. We’ll still have problems, sickness and stuff we probably won’t want to put on Instagram. But it means that we can still be satisfied even when those things happen, because our meaning will be based on God’s love and his promise of a place in heaven.

But following Jesus isn’t like following another person on Instagram. Jesus isn’t just an add-on to our lives. He alone is God, to be followed and loved first, making him our one good obsession. Which means Instagram and all social media can stay as they are: just stuff to enjoy. Not something to sweat over. We don’t need social media to make us feel complete—only Jesus does that! Jesus takes us just as we are, loves us and helps us grow in really great ways!

The life of a Christian is not just a one-time decision to trust Jesus.

An obsession with God puts everything else in our lives in perfect balance.

We’re so much more than a tiny square photo.

It is a daily decision to allow him to be in charge of every part of our lives as we follow his plan, not our own. This is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult, as in all of our relationships, but we can trust that God is always good, always loves us and is always on our side.

It means we can be ourselves without apology in a world that tries to make us fit into certain personas. With Jesus, we can be the person God made us to be—fully and without fear.

The number of double taps and followers we get don’t decide who we are or how much we are worth. 

An obsession with God puts everything else in our lives in perfect balance.

It is a daily decision to allow him to be in charge of every part of our lives as we follow his plan, not our own. This is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult, as in all of our relationships, but we can trust that God is always good, always loves us and is always on our side.

It means we can be ourselves without apology in a world that tries to make us fit into certain personas. With Jesus, we can be the person God made us to be—fully and without fear.

We’re so much more than a tiny square photo.

The life of a Christian is not just a one-time decision to trust Jesus.

The number of double taps and followers we get don’t decide who we are or how much we are worth. 

The life of a Christian is not just a one-time decision to trust Jesus.

An obsession with God puts everything else in our lives in perfect balance.

We’re so much more than a tiny square photo.

 It is a daily decision to allow him to be in charge of every part of our lives as we follow his plan, not our own. This is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult, as in all of our relationships, but we can trust that God is always good, always loves us and is always on our side.

It means we can be ourselves without apology in a world that tries to make us fit into certain personas. With Jesus, we can be the person God made us to be—fully and without fear.

The number of double taps and followers we get don’t decide who we are or how much we are worth.

An obsession with God puts everything else in our lives in perfect balance.

 It is a daily decision to allow him to be in charge of every part of our lives as we follow his plan, not our own. 

It means we can be ourselves without apology in a world that tries to make us fit into certain personas. With Jesus, we can be the person God made us to be—fully and without fear.

We’re so much more than a tiny square photo.

The life of a Christian is not just a one-time decision to trust Jesus.

The number of double taps and followers we get don’t decide who we are or how much we are worth. 

The life of a Christian is not just a one-time decision to trust Jesus.

An obsession with God puts everything else in our lives in perfect balance.

We’re so much more than a tiny square photo.

 It is a daily decision to allow him to be in charge of every part of our lives as we follow his plan, not our own. 

It means we can be ourselves without apology in a world that tries to make us fit into certain personas. With Jesus, we can be the person God made us to be—fully and without fear.

The number of double taps and followers we get don’t decide who we are or how much we are worth.