The Truth Beyond the Photo
I think back to when I was in grade school when no one had a cell phone. We all had one huge box computer with dial-up internet for the whole house to share. Today, I can’t remember the last time I saw someone without a phone in their hand, in their purse or in their pocket. I don’t remember the last time I was at a party where there wasn't a group sitting in a circle on their devices. While I love Facebook and Instagram for staying in touch with friends and family, it is slowly eating away at who a person truly is.
91% of teenagers say they are on their phone throughout the day.
24% say they are on their phone constantly.
Over 1 million selfies are taken each day.
On average, 70 million photos are shared on Instagram daily.
On average, 250 million photos are shared on Facebook daily.
Every second, over 8,000 photos are taken using Snapchat.
Facebook is filled with picture after picture that dictate a person’s life. You can see what a person is doing in their bathrooms, what their kids ate for breakfast and who they last went on a date with.
Oh, and don't forget, the "amazing" filter option for you to alter the picture to make yourself look "perfect". If you ask me, this is getting pretty scary and out of control.
Today, I want to give truth beyond the photo and challenge how you view a person. The girls in this photo have become my supporters, sisters and best friends. We have endured a lot of hard times together and I can count on them for just about anything. In this photo, we all look really happy, don’t we? Sure, that weekend was a blast and we made lasting memories, but that photo is only a snapshot of our lives.
It is only one millisecond of what happened that weekend.
When you look at that photo you cannot see the hurt and pain we were all going through. A day before this photo was taken, one of us had a mental break down because of too much stress. Another one of us was waiting to hear back if her mother had cancer or not. You also cannot see the tears that were shed the night before as we confessed deep battles we were all facing in our personal lives.
You also cannot see the true laughter and joy we were all experiencing. Before this photo was taken, two of us said “yes” to God’s calling on our lives. And still, another one of us finally figured out that she was right where God needs her to be.
Clearly, from this one photo, you don’t really understand our life story. You can't really see what is truly going on in our lives.
Pictures are lovely. Pictures capture rare moments that help keep the memories alive. There is beauty in taking pictures, but I want to ask you a very important question:
Are photos really real? Can we make a judgement about a person’s identity based on one picture?
No.
Sure, you can tell what kind of clothing he or she likes. You can tell that person’s height or color of hair, but this does not make up the soul identity of who a person is.
God wants us to dig deeper.
Psalm 139 says, God made all the delicate, inner parts of our body and knitted us together in our mother’s womb. He made us so wonderfully complex! His workmanship is marvelous. God watched us as we were being woven together in the dark of the womb. Before we were born, He saw us for who we truly are.
God wants the whole person. He doesn’t just want us to pick up our Bible's when we are in desperate need. God doesn't just want our hands to praise Him on Sunday's. God doesn’t just want our feet to walk on His path.
God wants our whole body and our whole life.
He wants us to do the same.
There is always more to a person's story than that one picture on social media.
There is more to your story too.
Search deeper than the photo.
Love them beyond the camera.
You will start to see people for who they truly are.
And that is better than any photo.
References:
StartFragmentLenhart, A. (2015, April 9). In Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015. EndFragment
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StartFragmentLePage, E. (2015, September 17). In A Long List of Instagram Statistics and Facts (That Prove Its Importance). EndFragment