Why do we desire to be like everyone else? Is it just our human nature? When I watch YouTube videos, every person I’m subscribed to creates the same content. Starbucks, Target, grocery hauls and clean with me videos. They all have beautiful homes, new cars, eyelash extensions, hair extensions, they’re booking flights, vacationing, and are promoting products they use. I feel like I never see anything original or authentic. And then it hit me. I am drawn to those videos. By wishing to have the things these girls have or to do the things they do makes me just as basic as them. I get it though. It’s what people want to see and it’s getting them thousands, sometimes millions, of views. They’re making profit by showing you what they eat in a day and by sharing their morning routines.

I am striving to find my purpose and my authenticity through Christ. Lately every time I catch myself watching vlogs and thinking, “Oh I love that, I’m going to purchase that just like she did!” God puts words on my heart. “My sweet girl, I did not create you to be just like everyone else. The money you want to spend on things will mean nothing in the end. Materialistic things are not forever and will not truly satisfy you. Rest in me.”

Am I insinuating that the YouTubers I watch don’t know God? Absolutely not. Is it fair for me to refer to them as followers instead of trendsetters? Probably not. I am thirty years old and still struggle to distinguish my wants from my needs, my own style from what is currently trending, and my overall identity. Something that is crystal clear to me today is that I want my identity to be found in Christ. Rather than wanting to be like the vloggers I watch on YouTube, I want to be like Christ. Rather than spending my time watching the lives of others, my goal is to spend more time studying the Word, spending more time praying, and doing things in this life that truly matter. I have heard it a million times, but I have never truly believed it until God shifted my mindset. Just because someone has a beautiful home and the most picture perfect life you see on social media DOES NOT mean that they are living a happy life. In fact, in my personal experience, once you have something you’ve wanted for so long, it only drives you to want something else, then something else after that and before you know it, you have little to no appreciation for any of it. It’s a never-ending cycle. There will ALWAYS be things you want. That’s one of the unfortunate things about this life, friends. Covetousness makes you want more and more. It makes you jealous of your neighbors and those around you. Before you know it, you are longing for the things you desire so desperately. If this is you, you are in idolatry. You have placed material things at a greater importance than God and His desires. It has become an idol to you.

A few years ago I gave up social media. I still find myself wishing I could scroll through Instagram, but for what? To compare my life to everyone else’s? It’s a big disappointment when you see others doing better than you, even though you pray desperately for God to take away any jealously and for you to truly be happy for others. And even if you’re truly happy with your life and all the blessings that you’ve been given, why do we want to post it on social media to make someone else potentially feel the disappointment we sometimes feel when we aren’t where others are in their walk of life? It’s a big let down altogether. Maybe I’m just an awful person. Maybe you are happy with every aspect of your own life, never wish you had what someone else has, and are so incredibly happy for other people when the sun shines down on them. If that is you, I admire you and pray to be more like you every single day and one day God will get me to that point. I say all of that to say this: YouTube is just as powerful as social media. I’ve noticed I’m not the only person in our family who can watch a YouTube video and then want to be more like someone else. After our daughter watches a video, she wants the $100 toy the girls in the video are playing with or the big playroom that they have in their beautiful 3 story home. Koby will watch a video and wishes he had the cool gaming computer he sees. Kylan is at the age where he is comparing himself to other kids anyway, so he doesn’t even need YouTube or social media. My husband can watch a video on a cologne review and then wants to go out and buy it. You see the pattern? And to think that all this time I have been completely blindsided. I have always thought of the videos I watch as inspirational because they would give me ideas on how to decorate around the house or new recipes to try. For most people, those things truly are inspiring, but I don’t just take away the decorating tips or the recipe. I notice the bigger picture. I notice the expensive cookware they’re using or the $40 decor piece they’re using to decorate with and feel like I have to have it, too. The devil tries tirelessly to distract us from God and what He has planned for our lives. And unfortunately, he is really good at it. When your lifestyle dictates your wants over your needs there is a problem. Do you absolutely have to buy that brand new car or expensive cookware? Do you need to spend $150 at Target or Hobby Lobby to decorate for fall? Is that $6 coffee from Starbucks an absolute necessity? If your life is about how you “look” in the eyes of man, then you are in sin. The eyes of man see only the outside. The eyes of God see what’s in your heart. When you pass up helping others to maintain an unnecessary lifestyle you are in sin.

I know someone reading this will have one hundred reasons why social media is a wonderful thing and I get it. Social media serves as a platform for so many people and that’s great. Each person has to do what is best for them. If social media is helping you live your best life, I completely understand and fully support your decision. With that being said, in order for me to live my best life, cutting out social media and limiting my time on YouTube is something I have to do.

Today is the day that I’ve prayed for. The day that my eyes have been opened and I can see clearly. I can see what I’ve been doing isn’t satisfying to God and He has laid it on my heart. He has clearly spoken to me and has given me a vision. I’m not saying I’m never watching YouTube again, but if it isn’t drawing me closer to God, is it even worth a minute of my time? May God be glorified in every thing He has given you!

Have you ever struggled with comparison?