Space For Jesus.

During exams, I decided to give my phone away for a week. I had been feeling purposeless and a lot worse than normal, so I figured this would help. I wasn’t going to tell anyone, and I was going to see how necessary it was, and what I would actually do with the extra time. It was an illuminating week. Not only was I giving my phone more of my time than it needed, but I was also giving too much of my brain space, my life space, to the various social media apps I was obsessively checking every hour. I let the lies that social media can tell us overcrowd the truths that Jesus says about me. I was looking at everybody’s highlights and comparing them to the worst, hardest parts of my life. I bought into our culture’s game of comparison. I let the idea of more and better consume my thoughts. Instead of allowing Yahweh’s sacrificial love define who I am, I let deception seep into my brain through this medium and show me how much better everyone else was at everything else. My thoughts seemed to be well-intentioned, but the implications that lied behind them were toxic.She’s so thin! (I’m so fat) Wow, she’s engaged, that’s amazing! (I wish that someone would desire me that way)It looks like they’re having a lot of fun in Europe! (My life isn’t nearly that fulfilling)These double-edged thoughts swayed my brain into purposelessness and self-loathing. It crept in so slowly, almost with familiarity, that I didn’t notice how deeply this was affecting my heart. After getting my phone back I realized I needed to guard my heart from those destructive thoughts and look at my social media as a tool for the Lord, not just a way to fill my time. When you really think about it, it is a great way to evangelize. We are handed a way to almost force people (sometimes people we don’t even know and may never meet) to read what we have to say, even if it’s just for a second. Why, as followers of Christ, do we not constantly use it as a tool to encourage and spread the love that Jesus Himself commanded us to do? Why am I instead trying to be funny? Or cute? Or artsy? Shouldn’t I just be trying to be Jesus?I don’t want to leave any more space in my heart, brain, or soul for anything other than His truths. I want them to invade every part of my being and overflow into all my words and actions. I want to spend my time intentionally. I don’t want to shy away from the new and sometimes scary things this ever-changing world can bring. I want to reclaim those things for the Lord. I want to win back what Satan has tried to rip from His grasp. So I will no longer post for the purpose of getting approval. I will no longer only affirm my sisters in their physical beauty. I will not be subject to this comparison game Instagram has created. I want to genuinely celebrate with my friends in their joy when they post something they are excited about, instead of griping about what I don’t have. I want to be transparent and encouraging in my use of social media. I’m claiming this ground as His again. Will you join me?words by Breanna Maier and photo by Sara Beth Pritchard