Your alarm shakes you out of what was supposed to be a good night’s sleep. You throw the covers off and slowly make your way out from under them. You head to the kitchen and turn on the coffee machine. For me it’s my Nespresso machine. (How could you begin your day without your normal caffeine injection?)

Whether you are starting your day as a stay-at-home mom or someone who goes into an office, your morning routine probably starts by checking every social media app that you have. As you scroll through your news feed, you’re immediately sucked into the details of the lives of your friends. (Some of them are barely acquaintances.)

One of your friends is on vacation—again! Someone else is posting pictures of the fabulous Food Network ready dinners and desserts they cooked throughout the day. Another super mom is blogging about amazing crafts they do with their kids or beautiful home decorations they just put up.

Now you’re overwhelmed and you haven’t even started your day. Social media can make you feel like an inadequate woman, wife, or mom. It’s time you smash the social media mirror!

Be very careful not to speak against the person you are called to be. Just because you are running out the door to drop the kids at school and you don’t have time to make them Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes doesn’t mean you are a lazy mom. Just because you weren’t able to prep a homemade dinner before heading into the office and you grabbed take out on the way home doesn’t make you an inadequate wife.

As women, God created us as emotional beings. It’s important to not let frustration or sadness infiltrate our hearts and minds as a result of comparing our lives with the lives of others. The trap of comparison is unwise and dangerous to your spiritual health. Paul wrote to the Christians in Greece and said:

. . . They are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! (2 Corinthians 10:12 NLT)

Sure, I would love it if my giant dining room table looked like a page in the Pier 1 Imports catalog. In reality, it’s covered with my work, my daughter’s school books and an explosion of Legos.

I always want things to look perfect, but I have three kids and I’m constantly on the go. I’ve had to work on that over the years. So when you see someone’s picture with the perfect filter don’t let it determine your feelings. I’ve heard it said about social media selfies, “No one online is prettier than you are, they just have more filters.” (I’m joking . . . but seriously.)

Take the gift that God has given you and use it with all the strength He has provided. You will bring glory to God. The Apostle Peter wrote:

God has each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another . . . Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring Glory to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)

That is the most important thing to remember. Get your focus on the right track. Don’t focus on the life you think someone has, focus on the life that God has given to you. It’s a privilege to have another day to breathe, to praise the Lord, to tell someone about Jesus, to bring joy to someone, and to be the best woman, wife and mother you can be.

Instead of being consumed by social media comparison, spend time in the Word of God and build up your strength in the Lord. Only then will you discover your identity in Christ and receive your inheritance. Look at Paul’s words to the elders in Ephesus:

And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. (Acts 20:32 NLT)

What about you? Have you experienced the weight of social media comparison? Let me know in the comments how you’ve dealt with it or helped someone else deal with it. It’s very important that we, as women of God, learn how to cultivate a strong spirit so that we can fulfill the purpose God has given each of us.