#FOMO wrecked the earth

Robbie Green

#FOMO existed way before Twitter and way before hashtags were a thing. Fear of missing out, or #FOMO, was real for Adam and Eve and it crushed their world just like it crushes ours. The good news is Jesus conquered #FOMO and set things right. He can be trusted to deliver everything you need.

It was perfect. Adam and Eve in the garden, everything they needed right in front of them. It wasn’t enough. There was more out there right? What if God was holding out on them? What if God is holding out on us?  

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve believed God couldn’t deliver on what they needed. What was that thing they needed but did not have? Nothing. It didn’t exist. Eve was missing nothing. However, that sense of missing out became a lie the enemy birthed in Eve’s heart, and it grew strong enough to convince Adam to follow along.  Fear of missing out brought the fall. It crushed a world that was perfect and led to the brokenness we see today.

#FOMO is deceptive

The fruit Eve bit into seemed so promising and ended so painfully. We see the same thing happen today. If we just had that one friend group, that one boyfriend or girlfriend, we would have everything. All we need wrapped up nicely in this idea that it is only achievable if we act contrary to God’s Word. Just this once. This one decision, this one choice God will understand right?

The lie is so real you can taste it. We have all felt it. The pressure to disobey stems from one root: We don’t think God can deliver on what we need. We debate with ourselves and rationalize with God’s word.

Did God really say I can't ________?

Did God really say that ________ is sinful and will hurt me?

Surely He didn’t mean that, right?

Just like it did for Eve, decisions made out of fear of missing out lead us away from God and in to sin. That road never ends well. The crash comes sooner or later. When we operate out of fear of missing something good, it paralyzes our decisions, delays our joy, and causes us to miss the only good thing there ever was.

Jesus conquered #FOMO

The book of Romans has some good news for those of us that feel like we are missing out on something: We aren’t.

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? “ (Romans 8:32)

In Jesus, we have every good thing we will ever need. Trust that. The lie that you are missing out on something is the oldest trick in the book. Fight #FOMO with the Word that has existed before that lie ever came to be.

So where are you with this? Is God asking you to take a next step that you are afraid to take? Are you being asked to move, give, serve, leave something or someone? Or maybe you just battle with loneliness? Maybe every Instagram picture is a reminder that you are out and others are in. That is a lie. Your Father gave you His Son, and He is every good thing you will ever need. Don’t take the fruit, it’s empty and it doesn’t end well.  #FOMO is a trust issue. Who will you trust today?