Highlight Reel

11/17/2021

Written By: Kenny Scott

Do you have a “highlight reel”? You know that video record of all your best plays, shining moments, greatest achievements, victories, etc., etc., etc. I literally have one. Now, I’m so old it’s on VHS tape (yes kids, a small “reel” of film which contains video images) and have no way of looking at it today since my last functional VHS player died over a decade-and-a-half ago of old age. The “tape” was generously compiled by a couple of my high school football coaches to help aid in getting me recruited to play quarterback at the next level. Now here’s the dangerous thing about my “highlight reel”-it’s just the highlights! Plenty of touchdown passes, but not one incompletion, and certainly not any of my record setting interceptions. Plenty of first downs gained but not one “3-and-out”. Plenty of victorious moments, but no record of crushing defeats anywhere to be found. The highlight reel, by definition, is intentionally deceptive. It seems odd that a football coach would recruit me, or anyone, based on images of just how good I was without knowing how bad I could be. It wasn’t the whole picture of who I was as a football player.


Now the first sentence of this article was rhetorical. With the advent of social media, just about anyone with access to the digital universe has a “highlight reel” carefully curated by themselves and disseminated over multiple platforms such as Facebook (Meta, or whatever it’s called today), Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn/job search apps, dating sites, personal blogs, etc. And the truth remains, they’re all deceptive and they’re not the whole picture of who you are as a person. You don’t always look that good-it was filtered and edited. You don’t dance that well-you practiced for hours and it was your 17th take. You’re not that witty-it was plagiarized from some other post. Your vacation wasn’t non-stop fun-it rained most of the time and you invited your family.

So, in the cyber world of human highlight reels, we’re left with a picture of life that doesn’t square up with reality. If you’re constantly putting in your soul everyone else’s highlight reel, you’re not ever going to convince me that doesn’t cause damage. We are currently living in the most anxious, depressed, fearful, and medicated generation the world has ever known and you’re naïve to think bombardment by human highlight reels doesn’t have something to do with it. It can’t help but lead to comparison with others, and Satan will never miss that opportunity to move those moments of comparison towards the sin of coveting, envy, and pride.

Have you ever scrolled through someone else’s social media posts and thought “I wish my life was like that”, “If only I made x-amount of dollars”, “I wish I looked like that”, or “I wish I was ‘liked’ by that many people”? If so, be on guard. Satan will quickly turn those desires for similar life highlights into thoughts of “I hate this about me”, “I wish I had a different gift set”, or “I’m a nobody” to name a few. When the voice in your head starts to agree with Satan more than with what God says about you in the Bible, that voice is making accusations against God. You’re accusing God of not being good and not being as good a god as you because you would have made you different/better if you had His power. This robs you of gratitude for what God has done in you. Without gratitude you will never walk in joy because you will always feel inadequate when you’re looking at someone else’s deceptive highlight reel and not God’s design for your life.

So how do we break out of the critical cycle of self-hate, comparison, and coveting? It starts with the two steps of repentance. You’ve likely made some nasty accusations against your perfect loving creator. God does not make mistakes, so you aren’t one. You were fearfully and wonderfully made and specifically gifted for the here and now (Ps 139:13-16; Acts 17:26-27). First, ask for forgiveness for your nearsighted assessment of His workmanship in you. God is crazy about you and thrilled by your creation. You are of infinite worth as evidence by what God was willing to pay for you on the cross.

Second, remove temptations for comparison/coveting from your life and go on the offensive against the lies of the devil. The primary weapon against lies is the truth of scripture. If you ever need a scriptural club with which to knock the devil in the teeth and out of your head, a good starting point would be Romans chapter 8. Try some of these truths: There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (v.1); If God is for us, who can be against us? (v.31); Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? (v.33); Who then can condemn? No one (v.34); and Who/what shall separate us from the love of God? Nothing! (v.35-39). A life lived under that truth will undoubtedly produce gratitude and joy in your life, and glory for the only one who doesn’t need a highlight reel.