"If you like what I'm doing, comment below."

“If you like what I’m doing, comment below.” These were the words out of my sons mouth as he was playing nicely with his trucks in my living room.  I walked in and looked around to see who he was talking to.  The room was empty.  It occurred to me that he is simply repeating what has been modeled to him on youtube videos.  Like so many of my fellow Mom friends, I have resorted to youtube videos at times to keep a kiddo content while at a restaurant, keep a kiddo quiet while at a dentist or doctor’s office, or just give myself a few minutes of peace and quiet while using the bathroom or showering. 

We are embarking on a new era, one that our parents and grandparents never experienced.  We have the power of so many things in our hands.  We can communicate with people overseas at the click of a button on our cell phone.  We can pay bills and order groceries and receive them on our doorstep. Some of us can see who or what is at our front door via Ring, while we are away.  We can even tell “Alexa” to add stuff to our grocery list or tell her to have our kids brush their teeth.  (Try it sometime for a good laugh.  She responded by saying “OK you knuckleheads, listen to your mother and brush your teeth!”)

We have the power to encourage others or criticize them publicly via facebook.  We have the power to instantly promote a product or service.  We even have the ability to have others vote for our evening attire, (and even purchase clothing from a picture!) or paint colors for our home.  The possibilities are literally endless. It’s incredible how far we have come yet it’s also terrifying at the same time! To think that my children could be subjected to wonderful things via the internet and horrible things via the internet.  There is so much power that can be held in the palm of your hand. 

The biggest concern for raising my children in this day and age is that they could easily fall into the trap of vanity.

van·i·ty

ˈvanədē/

noun

1.    1. 

excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.

"it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him"

synonyms:		conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-absorption, self-regard, egotism;More

o    

2.    2. 

the quality of being worthless or futile.

"the vanity of human wishes"

synonyms:

futility, uselessness, pointlessness, worthlessness, fruitlessness "the vanity of all desires of the will"

Michael and I walked around the nearby shopping mall, Village Pointe on Saturday night.  We watched as an attractive man took several (and I mean several) pictures of his beautiful date.  In each pose she adjusted something.  She tilted her head up for one, placed more hair around her face for another, sunglasses on, sunglasses off and the list of adjustments continues. 

Vanity.  Don’t get me wrong, I like to take a good picture too. 

What is the difference between vanity and Godly confidence?

Vanity focuses on me and what I was able to accomplish or how I was able to look.

I have to chuckle at both defintions.  Paired together, they make the exact point I am trying to make.  Let’s just put an equal sign in between.

Excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements = the qualitites of being worthless and futile. 

Godly confidence says “Because of my maker, I am wonderfully made.”

Psalm 3:26

For the Lord will be your confidence. 

Godly confidence says that “because He esteems me, I am highly esteemed.”

Isaiah 66:2

This is the one I will esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit.

Vanity says that I find my worth in what I CAN DO.

Godly confidence says that I find my worth in WHAT HE CAN DO and WHAT HE HAS DONE.

While we raise our children in an era with new challenges and difficulties, we must get our Godly confidence down and then pass it down to our children.  Just as they are modeling what they see on a screen, they model what they see us think and say about our own worth.