Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Abundance. A state of more than enough of something. I would argue our access to viewing social media can lead us to very distorted views of what abundance truly is! In fact, social media has proven to foster a constant state of social comparison. Likes, comments, and shares are a proven dopamine-driven reward system. What do I mean? Your brain gets sucked into a pattern of needing to see all this online! It really doesn’t matter what platform we spend time on. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and even LinkedIn can fuel these feelings of comparison. Inner peace and gratitude fly out the window as we look at the personal and professional lives of others online. And these can be both people we know or people we don’t!
Are you thinking about how you can acquire something someone else has? Maybe it is something simple like clothing or décor in their home, but maybe it isn’t simple. Perhaps it is a new car, or a bigger house. If you are spending time on LinkedIn, is it a new job title or someone’s new business? Maybe you aren’t comparing yourself to what someone has, but you feel pressure to post on platforms yourself! When you start to aspire to be like someone online and lose focus, feelings of abundance start to fade. And this can show up in how you “show-up” at work! Is social media taking time away from your day job?
As followers of Jesus Christ, we should focus on our abundance in relationship to him! If you are finding yourself with these feelings from social media, I would recommend a scheduled fast from the platforms you use the most. Breaking free from the instant gratification of a like, comment, or from simply seeing the things you may not have will allow you more time to seek Jesus. Only you can decide what this “fast” looks like. Do you need to institute daily time limits for each platform? Perhaps you need to delete the social media applications from your device all together for a period.
During this fast, I would recommend digging into your identity in Jesus Christ. What does Jesus say about you? As a follower of Jesus, what should your “social identity” look like and how can you show up with this identity to work? I would challenge you to check your phone for the amount of time you spend on social media applications and replace this with time in God’s word. Write down some key verses during this time that can help you stay rooted in your abundant identity in Jesus!