Unconditional Love

 "The Only Opinion That Matters"

Social media is truly a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it gives us an opportunity to contact people all over the world, people of different languages, different cultures, yet we share the same interests. We can share information that affects our lives, safety alerts, weather alerts, road hazards. We have an almost unlimited resource for information. 

But at the same time, we open ourselves to the bullies, the narcissists, the predators, the people of this world who are just plain evil. Every post we make is a potential minefield. Yet there are people who share an addiction to this media platform in many ways is no different cocaine or processed sugar —loss of control, dependence on validation, withdrawal symptoms. 

In some ways, I will never understand this gen z culture. They give power to complete strangers to affect how they think and feel about themselves. They won’t rely on their parent’s opinions, nor their siblings, friends and even their partners. Yet the complete stranger who live hundreds if not thousands of miles away can either uplift them or depress them for days on end. 

Isn't’ that a lot of power to hand to someone you don’t really know? Don’t you believe at least in some way it’s foolish to tether your heart, your mood, and your self-esteem to someone who will never truly know you. Do you really want to trust someone who has no stake in your life, or your well-being? 

I was once in your shoes; exactly in your shoes. One night I was having a pity party with God. I called it praying, but that’s what it was. “Why doesn’t anyone like me, why doesn’t anyone want to be my friend?” 

“Why won’t they either leave me alone or be my friend?” I was in my forties at the time, and here I was, acting like a teenager. But that’s what can happen when your own self-image requires validation from someone else.  

At that time, God himself spoke to me as loudly as I’ve ever heard him. I can’t really explain it except to say it was as if someone was shouting inside me. “MINE IS THE ONLY OPINION YOU NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT!” 

That was a day of discovery for me. No longer was I chained to the bondage of acceptance. No longer was I going to value my self-worth by someone else’s opinion. It wasn’t easy, and it definitely didn’t happen all at once, but slowly, I began to reprogram my thinking. I began to say to myself, “God’s opinion is the only one that matters”; “I will no longer give strangers the power to determine my self-image". And slowly, I started to walk out of a long, dark tunnel that I didn’t even know existed. 

Am I touching any nerves with you? Is this something you struggle with as well? No one loves you like God. No one is more concerned with your mindset, with your emotions, with your feelings of inadequacy than God. It’s really as easy as that; you don’t have to struggle with getting to know God, you are struggling to resist. God’s love is like a magnet; it draws you in, it invites you to go deeper. 

Friend, if you’re unhappy with the way social media treats you, then stop letting them form your opinion of yourself. The only opinion that should matter to you is the opinion of the one who loves you more than you can even fathom about love. God is ready to forgive anything, he’s ready to accept you right now, just as you are. Unlike humans, He doesn’t care about your past, or your present for that matter. While acceptance from social media is 100% conditional, only God’s love is completely unconditional. His acceptance depends on you, not Him. He has already accepted you.  

Now it’s your choice; Are you ready to step away from fleeting approval and embrace something permanent?