How do you combat FOMO?

I’m at the embarrassing age where I often need to Google the texting acronyms my student son uses. (Do you know what CMB or AFAIK mean?)

The best one I have come across is FOMO – the fear of missing out. It is this perception that others are having more fun, living better lives, or experiencing better things than we are. Unfortunately, it is not just a trait I recognise in my teenagers. When I look at Facebook and see happy families enjoying holidays in the sun I sometimes feel myself turning an unattractive shade of green. More worryingly still, I recognise FOMO in my spiritual life. When life is hard I’m tempted to look at other Christians enjoying an apparently suffering-free life and to remind God, ‘That’s not fair!’

Of course, God never promised life would be easy or that we would all be allotted equal amounts of suffering. When Jesus reinstated Peter after his betrayal and told him he would die for his faith, Peter’s immediate reaction was to look over at the disciple John and ask: ‘“Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me”’ (John 21:21-22). Like Peter, I can hear Jesus’ words ringing in my ears: ‘What is that to you?’ The Lord couldn’t have been any clearer. We are called to obey Him, where He has placed us, with our unique set of joys and challenges, without comparing our lives with others.