Selfies are getting a lot of attention these days. We see them in our Facebook newsfeeds; we hear about people doing ridiculous things to get their prefect selfies in the news. People risk their lives for selfies; people stage their lives for selfies. Many people seem obsessed with taking pictures of themselves. Why? Now I don’t want to judge every person who takes a picture for social media; that is not my intention. As a hardcore introvert, I am probably one of the least social people on Facebook. I basically talk to one person, and even then I prefer to use the private message option. My friend’s dog, who has Facebook profile, may share more personal information on Facebook then I do.
I get it; some people need to share their lives with others. “To each their own,” as the saying goes. We all have our own styles, but why do we need to show pictures ourselves so much? It is possible to take pictures of our surrounds and to share pictures with friends or keep photos for documentation. But when it become obsessed with getting the best picture simply to have the best selfie, we need to ask why that is. Why do you need to post yourself online? Is this for someone who hasn’t seen you in a long time, or are you looking for continual validation of your looks? Do you need others to affirm your worth? Do you think you are not good enough unless you look a certain way? Even if you snap a good picture of yourself, why do others need to see it?
The bigger question should be: do you post more pictures about yourself (or other interests if, like me, you aren’t into selfies) than you post about God?
We can lie to ourselves about our priorities and say we are focused on God, but the reality is that what we really care about the most will be reflected by our behavior. So let us just check ourselves to make sure that we are focusing on the right things and that we are paying more attention to God than to ourselves. “Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life” (Proverbs 4:23).
