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Selfie-Inflicted Wounds

November 21, 2013 / Comments Off on Selfie-Inflicted Wounds

The selfie: that well-orchestrated, yet "accidental" picture of yourself as you just happened to be holding your camera up at the right angle to get a great shot of yourself and so you're posting it. Taken at the right angle it can apparently even make your eyes look bigger, your cheekbones more defined, and your overall appearance just awesome.

 For some, the number of likes and comments a selfie garners can mean everything. It's a quantifiable number on popularity. Back in the "olden days," you might wonder how many friends you had. Now you can know down to the exact number, including how often they interact with you, "like" you, and publicly acknowledge you.

 
And, if you don't know what I'm talking about, trust me that someone you know does, especially if that someone is a teen. A teen with the pressure not only to post selfies but impress others with them. Inappropriate pictures seem fine as long as it gets attention. (If you're doing this, please trust me that it's not worth it!)
 
So, why do I bring this up? Because we're damaging ourselves. These selfies are becoming how we measure our self worth. Our esteem is in how we portray ourselves to others and in how they respond. Not enough responses, then that picture goes down. No one "likes" it. Deleted. With that, a little bit of ourselves is deleted too. 
 
We all know it, yet it so easily slips through our grasp: We are made in GOD's image. The Imago Dei. It is the only image that we need to portray. As cheesy as it sounds, His are the only "likes" that should mean something. Yet, we bow down instead to others and work hard to present ourselves as this accidental beauty, all the while knowing how hard we worked to make it happen.
 
We aren't helping those who are "following" us to see what's real and to be a part of it. How can we expect those younger than us to know that their self-image comes from God if we can't lay that out there publicly?
 
So, yeah, I know we're not going to be totally real and posting selfies of us sitting on the couch, depressed, and eating directly from the ice cream carton. But, how about if we post more pictures about others, or us in groups? Non-orchestrated. One-take shots. How about if we are careful how we build each other up? Not with comments about beauty, but comments about the heart? 
 
These self-inflicted wounds of building ourselves up on the words of others have to stop. Build yourself up in His Word instead. I see God in you, but do you?
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Jamie Lath is a middle child that has no baby picture without her older sister in it. Even with only two siblings, she grew up with family everywhere because all her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and even second-cousins lived in her hometown. With forty people at her birthday parties (all relatives) and her sister in every picture, she knows a little about community, and it's everlastingness. This has brought most of her ministry focus into meeting people where they're at, listening closely (especially to those who feel voiceless and like no one is listening), and helping them find God's voice in the mix. Jamie graduated with a BA in Communication Studies from the University of North Texas. Following a year of teaching English in China, she returned to the states to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. She received a Th.M. with a focus on Media Arts. Her background in the arts (ballet, writing, and acting) has given her an understanding of how creative expressions can give people a safe place to begin exploring how to use their voice and how it can touch hearts to hear God’s voice. She also blogs at I just called to say "Olive Juice."

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