Roughly defined, selfies are self-portraits in the digital age. With the advent of social media—such as Facebook, for instance—people seem more willing to reveal themselves in a public way. Using the camera on a cell phone to take a “selfie” has made the process virtually instantaneous.
There is an obvious spiritual counterpart in the making of selfies. We all want to project an acceptable image of our Christianity to others, but is what we think we are transmitting actually what others perceive? That is, are we only fooling ourselves, while others see us as we are?
There is a Church of God which doesn’t know that it is “‘wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.’” In fact, a member of this group would say, “‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’” (Revelation 3:17). What Jesus Christ sees in these Christians is not what they see in themselves!
Let me make this more applicable for us by asking a question—how would you describe a self-righteous person? Consider:
Self-righteous individuals are presumptuously arrogant along with being self-willed and right in their own eyes; they practice “fixing” others while ignoring their own problems; they have a spirit of defiance and disrespect—stubbornly resisting guidance.
Perhaps the most glaring shortfall of self-righteous people is that they are weak! Christians who hold onto and sustain the vanity of self-righteousness are blocking themselves from God:
“‘But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word’” (Isaiah 66:2).
Whether we realize it or not, we are all transmitting “selfies” to others in ways far more important than what might be captured by a camera. If we rely on God for our righteousness and not ourselves, then our “picture” will be acceptable to the Father, Jesus Christ, our brethren—and even to ourselves!
