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A Theology of Selfies


O.K.  I confess that I am an old guy and that I might be out of touch, out of date and just a wee bit cranky.  Maybe I am missing something in this whole selfie phenomenon because the technology to allow this process is relatively recent.  After all, in my day, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the person taking a picture was the one person guaranteed not to be in the picture.  Taking the picture meant that you had to be behind the camera rather than in front of it.  Therefore, all of the pictures I took were of other people or the sights that I saw.  I am sure that if it had been physically possible, there would have been those from my generation that would have been the star of their own photo-show - but it just wasn't.

Now the technology is available, and everyone is doing it.  In fact, some do it so much that their facebook page is festooned with nothing but self-portraits.  There they are taking a trip, trying new makeup, eating supper, going to bed, and so on and so on.  It seems so incredibly narcissistic.  Everything is about me. I am the star of all my pictures and my posts all scream "Look at me!"  I have to think that this also leads to a unhealthy concern with how I look in all those pictures.  After all, I am not going to put up the pictures that make me look bad - and I'm not even going to mention the growing tendency to photoshop the pictures that are posted.

Theologically this is a issue.  If I am the centre of my world and everything I post focuses on me, then I have a deep spiritual problem.  You see, it's not about me.  It's all about Jesus.  The more I place myself in the spotlight, the more off-track I am spiritually.  Our perspective must be the same as John the Baptist - Jesus must increase and I must decrease.

Comments

Chuck said…
I wholeheartedly AGREE! I just wish I had the guts to post this on my facebook page... Alas, I do not~ simply because I would alienate so many people, including my kids, my family, good friends, and those to whom I am sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. It would also make me look like a goody-two-shoes!! But thank you for reinforcing the Biblical principle of humility for me~ Your blog speaks volumes!
January 26, 2015 at 3:19 PM
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