Part 1: Our
obsession with the selfie.
I’ve done it.
You’ve done it. If she has a smartphone, your grandma has probably done
it. Though there’s nothing wrong with
posting a selfie, you have to admit that our culture is obsessed with it. So
obsessed, in fact, that apparently a band called The Chain Smokers has made hundreds
of thousands of dollars off their single hit titled “#Selfie.” I only know this
because when I typed the word “selfie” into the Google search bar, the lyrics
to this hit song were the first thing to pop up on the world’s most popular
search engine. Feeling a little naïve about never having heard this song that has 111,066,303 views and counting on YouTube, I
clicked on the link to see the lyrics.
Let me just say, that’s 30 seconds of my life that I will never get
back. Literally, the most ridiculous song I have ever not heard, but what did I
expect from a band who calls themselves “The Chain Smokers?” However absurd the
song may be, the chorus does reveal something so significant about a trap that
our generation has walked right into. Let me give you the radio version…
Can you guys
help me pick a filter?
I don't know if
I should go with XX Pro or Valencia
I wanna look tan
What should my
caption be?
I want it to be
clever
How about
"Livin' with my b***es, hash tag LIVE"
I only got 10
likes in the last 5 minutes
Do you think I
should take it down?
LET ME TAKE
ANOTHER SELFIE
Sad. Sad. Sad.
What our obsession with the selfie reveals about our generation is an overall
loss of our identity and an extreme plague of insecurity. Insecurity may not
seem like it belongs on some fictional list of the “7 deadly sins,” but
insecurity is possibly the biggest trap the enemy has laid for our generation.
Why? Because insecurity leads to idolatry, pride, manipulation, gossip, and
envy, and it causes blindness to the fact that we were made in the image of an
Almighty Creator God. When we do not know who we are, we will bow down to the
first thing that offers us a sense of significance. When we do not know who we
are, we will boast in ourselves in order to become something in the eyes of
others. When we do not know who we are, we will do whatever we have to in order
to fight our way into the limelight. When we do not know who we are, we will
cut one another down so that they cannot be confident in who they are. When we
do not know who we are, we will wish we were something we are not. When we do
not know who we are, we cannot fully know the God who created us.
We put ourselves
out there waiting for someone to validate who we are. We have an innate desire
to know that we are admired, that we are desired, that we are worth something;
and instead of looking to the single source of our value, we look to one
another and we are sadly disappointed. The reality is that no matter how many
“likes” you get, it will never make you feel loved. No matter how many “hits”
you get, it will never validate your worth. There is but one source and his
name is Jesus Christ. He admired, desired, and counted us as worthy to the
point of death. When he took the weight of our sin on that cross, he paid the
price for our validation. Our longing for affirmation will take us to places we
never intended to go if we do not search for it in the presence of Jesus. No
one can tell you that you are not worthy, that you are not good enough, when
you know the enormity of the sacrifice that he made for you. So go ahead and
post your weekly selfie. I’m not expecting you to go on a selfie strike. But don’t
you dare post that selfie as a solicitation for affirmation. You are God’s workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that you should walk in
them.
