Internet people, do you want to know something? I wake up unnecessarily early to allot myself at least 20 minutes of uninterrupted Pinterest time every morning while I eat my breakfast. Twenty. Minutes. And what do I get out of that 20 minutes? Feelings of inadequacy. I see myself weighed, measured, and come up wanting because I'm not fit enough, stylish enough, clever enough, sarcastic enough, blogger-y enough, not interested in bullet journaling, and not making enough mug cakes. Comparison truly is the thief of all joy, my friends.
It's not like this happened over night. More of a slow creep. When used sparingly, Pinterest provides me with a lot of inspiration and ideas. But when used obsessively and day after day, I can't see all of these wonderful figures, crafts, homes, outfits, budgeted grocery lists, intelligent comics, and perfectly posed steaming cups of coffee in the woods without starting to believe that I am not enough and will never have cool enough slogans on my t-shirts. Inundation has warped my perspective.
In His perfect comedic timing, immediately after that realization I read a devotional by John Piper. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. This verse means that there is a precious experience of peace and assurance and harmony and intimacy that is not unconditional. It depends on us not grieving the Spirit. It depends on our putting away bad habits [beating myself up over something I saw on Pinterest]. It depends on forsaking the petty inconsistencies of our Christian lives [the 'I'm not good enough's, the worldly prides]. It depends on our walking closely with God and aiming at the highest degree of holiness."
So I'm taking back my joy. There have got to be a million other things I could do with that twenty minutes, and I think a little more time devoted to aiming at the highest degree of holiness will be where I start.
It's not like this happened over night. More of a slow creep. When used sparingly, Pinterest provides me with a lot of inspiration and ideas. But when used obsessively and day after day, I can't see all of these wonderful figures, crafts, homes, outfits, budgeted grocery lists, intelligent comics, and perfectly posed steaming cups of coffee in the woods without starting to believe that I am not enough and will never have cool enough slogans on my t-shirts. Inundation has warped my perspective.
In His perfect comedic timing, immediately after that realization I read a devotional by John Piper. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. This verse means that there is a precious experience of peace and assurance and harmony and intimacy that is not unconditional. It depends on us not grieving the Spirit. It depends on our putting away bad habits [beating myself up over something I saw on Pinterest]. It depends on forsaking the petty inconsistencies of our Christian lives [the 'I'm not good enough's, the worldly prides]. It depends on our walking closely with God and aiming at the highest degree of holiness."
So I'm taking back my joy. There have got to be a million other things I could do with that twenty minutes, and I think a little more time devoted to aiming at the highest degree of holiness will be where I start.
No comments:
Post a Comment