Day 3...It's Not About the Like

“But do you LIKE like him?” That’s a question I was asked by one of my kids when I was sharing about someone I’d met. That’s how she gauged the seriousness of what I was telling her—if I LIKE liked him..

With the invention of social media we have started to view that word, like, in a whole new way. Actually we use that word to determine the depth of our value, the depth of someone else’s value. “Like” has become the new “I accept you” meter of which we spend our day obsessing over. 

I did LIKE like him. And then it ended. I felt silly saying yes to her question, but as I paused and reflected on the depth of the meaning I realized that I actually did LIKE like him. And he actually LIKE liked me. 

Like wasn’t enough.

The other day, I heard a conversation between 13 year old girls that went something like this:

Girl 1: “How many likes did you get on that picture today? Because it was really cool!”

Girl 2: “87!!”

Girl 1: with a softer voice “That’s amazing! I’ve only ever gotten 60 on something.”

My heart sank as I heard this exchange; as I saw the look on both of their faces. Right before my eyes two future women were sharing an unspoken truth of “my value is linked to how many likes I get.” I thought in that moment about the times I’ve LIKE liked someone only for it to end and how I had to turn to my girlfriends to say “Please tell me someone will say I’m enough for them and not leave me!” I had to admit to myself as I listened to the rest of their conversation that I too am guilty of checking to see how many likes I’ve gotten on a particular post or picture and I’m equally guilty of seeing that someone else has way more likes than I’ve ever had and feeling a slight sting as I wonder why. 

When we’re not in the moment, when we’re able to think clearly it’s easy for us to spout things like “Of course your value isn’t based on likes!” and “Of course you are enough and someone will see that!”  In my mind I truly do know and believe those things. But as I watched the 13 year old girls talking I realized that it doesn’t matter what we think when we’re not in the moment—it matters what we think when we’re IN the moment. 

In the moment is where peace either abounds or evaporates. In the moment is the crux we base a LOT of decisions on. In the moment counts. 

Social media isn’t going anywhere any time soon. The “Like” button is part of our life. Relationships are part of our life. And frankly the pecking order of how many people like us matters—even to the people that say they don’t care if people like them (they lie). The core of humans rest one simple question “Do you like me?” or better put “Do I matter?”

As we maneuver through the holidays, as we get online and see all the snapshots of what appears to be perfection in the lives of our Facebook friends my prayer is that we all (including me) remember this simple yet profound truth—like just isn’t enough.  Never will someone like us enough, never will we get enough likes on a post, never will we LIKE like someone with a promise of it lasting. Like just isn’t enough. Lest I leave you feeling hopeless, I’ll clue you in on what IS enough…the very real and very bold value that is placed on us when we turn to Jesus and say “I don’t just like you, I NEED YOU.”  Jesus destroys the value of like because he lavishes love over us. 

We are LOVED.

Like is nothing compared to LOVE. So post your stuff because you want to, date someone because you want to, befriend someone because you want to but never forget we find our value, our peace, in God alone.