The
details vary from woman to woman. Yet, for each of us, a common thread
weaves through our stories: the grand story of the fall. Think back to
Eve in the Garden of Eden. She lived in paradise with her loving
husband, Adam, and her devoted God. They enjoyed constant fellowship
with their Creator. Then the deceitful serpent entered the stage.
Listening to his empty promises and twisted propaganda, Eve succumbed to
his lies, and women have been believing those lies ever since. We view
ourselves through our own distorted lenses of self-loathing, ugliness,
shame, and discontentment instead of Jesus’ lenses of love, beauty,
redemption, and generosity.
Q: The
topic of social media comes up often in this book. How do Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and other social media sites negatively affect some
women?
A:
Have you ever mindlessly surfed Facebook, only to shut your laptop,
feeling lonely, useless, and discouraged? It’s tough not to succumb to
jealousy, envy, greed—and even despair—when we are inundated with our
friends’ vacation photos, dream homes, new cars, job promotions, and all
the other exciting things people want to celebrate. We are left feeling
as if we are living a less-than-stellar life. For the woman who already
struggles with a negative self-image, those posts are a constant
reminder of the many ways she doesn’t measure up. Social media has
become a driving force in our culture, but it doesn’t reflect reality.
It’s the highlight reel. We see people living life seamlessly—the
perfect family, the perfect house, the perfect job, the perfect
faith—and we wonder, “What am I doing wrong? Why am I not married yet?
Why am I not pregnant yet? Why don’t I live in my dream home?” What we
don’t see underneath those beaming Facebook posts is the crumbling
marriage, the house in foreclosure, the credit card debt, and the
I’ll-show-up-for-church-on-Sunday-morning-but-don’t-you-dare-ask-me-do-to-anything-riskier
kind of faith.
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What a perceptive writer. I so agree with her comments about social media, which we have never taken any interest in. But seeing how the young, and not so young, spend their time on it makes me wonder if they live a real life.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Barbara. I think this is probably a very good book to study.
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