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Selfies and The Gospel

President Obama remains in hot water for his selfie with Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and British Prime Minister David Cameron at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. People are outraged not only at the setting, a service for a deceased dignitary, but also the act itself (unbecoming, juvenile, and narcissistic).

The fact is we are a world of selfies. Oxford Dictionary named selfie the word of the year in 2013. Even if we cringe at other people incessantly taking and posting personal portraits of themselves, we do it ourselves (even if we feel kind of dirty for doing it). The term selfie is a perfect term for us. We are a people who are uncomfortably and unhealthily drawn towards ourselves. And we like drawing other people to ourselves. We are, after all, about ourselves.

Selfie-ness is not new. It has been around since the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve decided to make the world about themselves rather than God. They wanted God to be the supporting actor in story of their lives.

This Selfie-ness pervades every area of life; it is in our fingerprints and dna. It should not be strange then that we make religion about us. For many religion is just another selfie,  ”Look at me doing this or that” or  ”Look at me not doing this or that.” We promote it. We flaunt it. We lean upon it for worth with all of the prizing of highly “liked” Instagram shot.

While this is not strange it should be troubling, particularly for Christians. The Christian faith is not about us. It’s not about what we do or how we do it. In fact, the Christian gospel is a repudiation of our ability to make a way to God. Christianity says, “The problem is you. You must be born again.” (John 3:3)

Jesus comes to put his works on display in our place. His life, death, and resurrection is the victory in every part of life that we fail. You could say that Jesus came to remove our fascination with ourselves by captivating us with his supreme beauty.

To make Christianity about us is actually the ultimate photobomb. It is trying to get into the shot that is not about you. It is saying, “Hey look at me!” And everyone is saying, “Get out of the shot! This is not your show!” The tone of the New Testament writers makes this self-repudiation a requirement for understanding and receiving the gospel. Paul writes that his best works are considered “rubbish” (Phil 3:7-8). Jesus said that any prospective follower must deny himself in order to follow him (Lk. 9:23). This valuation of self and subsequent repudiation of self is essential in order to embrace the sufficiency and beauty of Christ!

The selfie phenomenon should remind everyone, regardless of their religious affiliation, that we as people are unhealthily into ourselves. The Christian understands that restoration from this only comes through Christ. As a result, we of all people should be fascinated by his masterpiece and burdened to point others to it.

 

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