What is Your Mirror?

From Filters to Freedom: Finding Your Real Identity

For the umpteenth time, Jemima scrolled through her gallery in search of the perfect picture to post on her Instagram account. None of the twenty-three photos she had taken seemed good enough for some reason. Either her face looked weird, or a part of her body appeared out of place. This wasn’t strange at all. It was simply what social media expected: flawless, filtered, and perfectly posed. And so, she kept scrolling, waiting for the one picture that might finally be “perfect” enough to post.

Sadly, this is one of the subtle realities social media has woven into our lives: the constant need for validation. The quiet pressure to be approved, admired, or applauded. And so, with every click comes a silent claim on our thoughts, looks, identity, and sense of worth. Telling us how to look, what to say, who to be, and which version of ourselves is worth showing. As a result, we often find ourselves caught between what is true and what is expected, torn between doing what is right and yielding to the pressure of trends. Over time, we begin to lose ourselves in the cycle.

There was a time when YouTube had both the thumbs-up (like) button and the thumbs-down (dislike) button on every video; after a while, the dislike button disappeared, and you could only see the like button. Again, it was restored, but this time, you couldn’t see the dislike counts till now; only the like counts are visible. A young boy was said to have committed suicide because his video had more thumbs-down clicks than thumbs-up clicks. Whether that was the reason YouTube decided to remove the feature, we may not know, but it goes to show how many people have become lost in social media metrics. 

Now, Instagram and some other social media platforms have made it possible to hide like counts on posts just to reduce the rate at which young people get depressed over numbers. The world, its standards, or social media should never be the lens through which you view your life.

The scripture paints a different picture. In James 1:23–25 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, the Word of God is likened to a mirror that shows you who you truly are in Christ. Not who the world says you should be, but who God already says you are: chosen, loved, blessed, justified, righteous, worthy, etc. The Bible further reiterates in Psalm 139:24 that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Now, pause for a moment and look into a mirror or use your phone camera and say to yourself:

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 

I am loved, I am chosen, I am blessed, I am justified, I have been set apart for His glory, and I am worthy!  

How did that feel?

Please note that it doesn’t just begin or end with affirmations. It starts with renewing your mind with God’s Word and embracing who He says you are. The truth is, if you don’t know who you are, the world will give you its own label. Even Jesus and John the Baptist were misidentified by people. Yet, they didn’t allow the crowd to define them. Because they were rooted in their identity, they confidently responded with who they truly were. Likewise, you are not who people think you are.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “You become what you behold.” This is absolutely true and also conforms to the truth of God’s Word. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, we’re reminded that as we behold the Word of God, we are transformed into His image. So, make it a daily part of your life; read it, meditate on it, speak it, and live it.

Understand this: social media is a tool, not your mirror; a platform, not your identity; a device, not your source of validation. So use it, and don’t let it use you. Let your validation come from God, not from likes. Let your worth be rooted in truth, not trends. Let your life reflect the image from His Word, not a filtered one. 

From the very beginning, you were created in His image, which means you are nothing short of His masterpiece; let no one or nothing tell you otherwise!