Whether you post it, tweet it, gram it, or snap it, it is impossible to do so without comparing yourself to those around you. IMPOSSIBLE. We are caught in a society where we are told to qualify our worth by earthly things and diamond rings. We are told that we are not good enough if we don’t look a certain way or hang out with certain people. We are told that we must be people that we are not in order to be accepted and loved. FALSE.
We are already loved by an incredible God. There is nothing in this world that could possibly take His place. Yet we are constantly conforming to the pressures of this earth. We see pictures and videos of people seemingly having the times of their lives. As we watch and scroll, we instantaneously feel worse about ourselves. “They are perfect,” we say. “They have it all together” we assure ourselves. “They are living the life I want” is what we finally say before starting all over on a different e-friend.
These photos and videos conglomerate to create a picturesque scene that cannot be recreated in reality. Yet we try time and time again. But time and time again we fall flat on our faces. What we fail to see is that others perceive perfection while all that they are is broken. They are broken from the rigid social standards that are too far removed to reach. They are broken from the performance based love they have to both give and receive. And they are broken from the world that they once love but can do nothing but hate because of the skewed image they can no longer break.
We see perfection in them while God sees a child in pain. They are the lost souls and the empty hearted for they have not seen the perfection and beauty that covers His kingdom. They only see the dark corners and the crooked sidewalks. What a difference it makes to see things in reality. Each picture has a story: good, bad, and ugly alike. There is always a story that the few may never know. This is why perfection looks like it is untouchable.
Perfection is impossible but knowing a perfect God is a truth. There is a God who knows the stories to every post, every broken heart, and every scared mind. He sees them all and still chooses to meet us where we are, even in the ugliest places. He chooses us. He has chosen us from day one and will never stop loving us endlessly. This is the beauty in the broken.
