Selfies!

by - 10:38 AM


Selfies have taken over!  But seriously...the term "selfie" was just added to the Oxford  Dictionaries Online (the ODO for short), along with other recently-coined words like "twerk," "emoji," "derp," and "squee."  The ODO defines "selfie" as follows: A picture that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.
To the left is one of my personal faves - a totally metal, rockin' pic I took with a long-forgotten (I can't imagine why!) keytar in a local Goodwill store.
Why am I talking selfies today?  Well, yesterday morning on the Today Show, the anchors promoted a hashtag on Twitter: #WorldwideSelfie.  And they elicited literal around-the-world participation.  In fact,  if you click this link, you can see some surprising selfies ranging from the first lady to the pope...and even to an astronaut in outer space!
I bring up the selfie for another reason: I have seen TONS of them out in cyberspace over the past few years.  To me, the most disturbing selfies are those of partially-dressed young ladies that pose with the duck lips in their bathroom mirrors.  Why are these disturbing?
Well...
1) The bathroom.  Usually there are wet towels, dirty clothes, and scattered makeup containers all over the place - not to mention the unflattering toilet in the background background.
2) Duck lips.  What is the purpose of these?  Are they puckering up in order to kiss (through the screen!) anyone who happens upon the photo?
3) Half-dressed.  Well, this almost goes without saying...but that weird guy in your 2nd period Chemistry class can see your Facebook selfies.  I mean, do you really want HIM checking you out in your towel?
In some ways, I love the selfie!  It is often the best way to get a somewhat flattering pic of yourself, considering most phones have a front-facing camera feature nowadays.  But in other ways, I detest it.  I have caught myself endlessly scanning through my selfies so that I am sure to post the most attractive one as my profile pic in order to present the "best version of myself" to the world.  When I find myself in that situation, I have to check my heart and see if my motivation is out of pure selfishness and vanity.  For these are dangerous motives that can lead to sins of idolizing self rather than worshiping the one, true God.  If that's where I find myself, I must go to the Lord in prayer right then and there.
Remember:
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." (Phillipians 2:3, NIV) 
The New Living Translation goes so far as to translate "do nothing out of...vain conceit" as the "don't try to impress others."  Friends, that speaks to me BIG TIME.
What about you?  What are your thoughts on the selfie?

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