Living for the Likes

Recently, I found myself itching to check my messages constantly. I was obsessing over the statistics—how many people liked my posts, how many people loved my posts, how many comments I received, and how much praise I was getting from friends and family.

It went on for a long time—I went on without realizing it was wrong.

I stopped pursuing God and writing for Him—instead, trading it for the comments and the likes. But what does God tell us about living for the likes? What does He want us to focus on instead? There’s nothing wrong with seeing the number on your posts go up—or is there?

We are worth so much more to Him.

God cares about us. He put so much worth into us—He cares so much to set us apart. We were created in His image. He favors us. He cares for us, just as He does all of His creation.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” -Luke 12: 6-7

But if God sees us this way, why would something so simple—likes, loves, comments—matter more to me than God’s love and how He sees me? Why would I be so swift to check my likes when I have a whole Book telling me who I am to the Maker of the universe?

Yes, likes give us a temporary feeling of being wanted and valued, but it’ll all boil down to words on a screen and maybe the good intentions behind it. Words that will temporarily make you feel the way God always wants you to feel. We are valued by Him, even though we aren’t worthy of it.

God sees us differently.

Our value isn’t based on whether that post gets a hundred likes or zero. Our value is based on how God sees us.

Buuutttt...how does He see us?

We’re all messed up and broken as the people He used in the Bible, but He’s not going to stop loving us or let us be worthless—that’s a fact.

God cared so much that He sent His only son to die for you. Messed-up, broken you. He didn’t want to leave it to the world to tell us our worth. He didn’t leave it to the likes we get on social media to show us who we are and how much we are worth to Him.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3:16

(Bolded words mine)

He displayed our worth directly to us by sending Jesus to die for us. Because He values us beyond words. He values us beyond the limits of our human imagination. He values us more than I can tell you in this blog post.

That’s why a little icon on a screen is nothing compared to His love.

With that mindset, instead of constantly checking likes, I began to focus more on God’s word and how He sees me.

Instead of focusing on living for the likes, start being yourself—the person God has created you to be, with all your flaws—without worrying about gaining likes, comments, and followers on social media.

Lastly, instead of turning on a device to check the number of likes you have, flip through the pages of the Bible to see what the Master Creator thinks of you—His masterpiece.