Have you ever stopped to ask yourself this question:
"If social media disappeared today, would I still know who I am?"
It's an uncomfortable question, but an important one.
Many young people are struggling because they are living on borrowed identity.
Borrowed identities from influencers we admire, from friends we want to fit in with, from celebrities we follow, and even brethren in church.
Before you know it, we begin dressing like them, talking like them, thinking like them, pursuing their dreams, and measuring our lives by their standards.
The major problem here is the constant imitation without personal conviction.
When you spend too much time trying to become someone else probably because of the flamboyance it/she/he holds, you slowly forget the person God created you to be.
The Bible gives us a powerful reminder in Romans 12:2, it says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Notice the word conform. It means allowing external pressure to shape who you become. God never intended your identity to be built by trends but to be rooted in Him.
Just think about David.
While everyone expected a king to look like Saul—tall, impressive, and commanding—God chose a shepherd boy who didn't even match his brothers. David won because he embraced who God had made him to be—the humble shepherd who wasn't distracted by the nice things outside his purpose.
When it was time to face Goliath, he was given Saul's armour. But the armour that fit Saul didn't fit David, so he took it off (1 Samuel 17).
He wasn't concerned at all about fitting in or trying to make it fit.
Now, What does that tell you?
Sometimes the greatest act of courage is refusing to wear someone else's identity.
Maybe you've become a collection of borrowed opinions, borrowed dreams, borrowed lifestyles, and even borrowed ambitions.
Let me tell you this: you don't need another personality or next trendy things to imitate.
What you actually need is the courage to discover the one God has already given you. That unique dream, passion, voice, personality, etc, that's what you need.
So where do you start?
First off, you need to sit quietly with God, away from the noise and pressure from social media and new-normals.
Spend more time in His presence than on people's profiles. The One who created you knows you better than any algorithm ever will.
Secondly, pay attention to the gifts, burdens, and desires God has consistently placed in your heart instead of chasing every trend that goes viral.
I wrote a book called, Walking The Purpose Path. It describes the various ways to know what to pursue and dedicate your life building as your purpose.
Thirdly, limit the voices that constantly make you feel inadequate both online and offline. It's not every influence that deserves access to your mind. Some pages across your social media needs to be unfollowed.
And finally, be comfortable growing differently. Being different—in God's plan and His word—was the whole idea when He created you. Your journey was never meant to look exactly like someone else's.
The world rewards copies because they're familiar.
BUT
God delights in originals because He created them.
So don't spend your life becoming a second-rate version of someone else when, by His grace, you can become the first-rate version of who He designed you to be.
Because your greatest contribution to this generation will never be how well you imitate another person but how faithfully you reflect Christ through the unique person He created you to be.
Go do some unfollowing.
Go sit with God in stillness.
Go read His word.
Even the world need originals.
POWERFUL LESSONS BEFORE 25 has a whole chapter dedicated to this truth. Endeavor to get one for yourself.
God bless you.
Comments
Post a Comment