Selfie-Centred Christians
About a month or so ago I took facebook off my phone then I blocked it so I couldn't get it back. I had posted something and I found myself going back to see how many likes I got. This is what I will call “Selfie-centredness” and I've been Selfie-Centred often.
According to researchers at California State university approval on facebook is like a drug. When you post something, every time you get a like it releases dopamine. This means you can actually be addicted to likes! But there is a deeper problem than the addiction. It is the desire for approval and the fear of missing out.
Social media allows us limitless opportunities to promote ourselves in a way that is totally controlled by us. The things that we say about ourselves are untestable and unverifiable by most of those who are reading it, so we can control the opinions people have about us. We may write about how well we performed at work or at school, but the people reading that post have no indication of what went on to get you to that point. Who helped you, what is your measure of success, how many sleepless nights did you experience leading up to it? The other question that goes unanswered is “what is the purpose for telling people how well you did?” In the real world people see your struggles, they can see the dark circles under your eyes, see the people who have helped you along the way, and they can see and know your failings.
It also allows us to create a culture around us that is engineered to point back to us. We have the ability to control our friend list. If someone disagrees with us or does not like what we've said, we can simply de-friend them. I have even heard of ministry strategies that involve a pastor strategically friending people they think might come to their Church. This can carry over into the real world when we find ourselves not listening to those who disagree with us and we find our selves shutting their voices down by labelling them argumentative or divisive. This doesn't start with social media. It is usually just as recognisable off line as it is online, but it's just as damaging.
The selfie culture can do a good deal of damage to us. While it may seem that everything is good, what is happening is that all the goodness in our lives becomes dependent on others and their opinions of us. Our wholeness is affected as we cannot feel complete without having recognition and approval. The following are ways that the selfie culture can be detrimental to our lives.
But of course this has Biblical implications and Biblical Answers. Self promotion is Idolatrous. As we are told to do everything for the glory of God, we can't be doing everything for the glory of God if we are doing some things for the glory of ourselves. Phillipians 2:3 also gives us the command to do “nothing out of selfish ambition”. What are we doing when we post selfies and statements about all the amazing things we are doing. Are we doing that out of selfish ambition or for the glory of God. Or perhaps it is “in every effort to build each other up” as we read in Romans 14. These are the things we have to consider.
For those who work in ministry this becomes an even greater issue, as the Devil will love to see teacher, preachers, elders, and deacons, turn towards Idolotry. We have to be careful not to make an idol out of approval. Recently, a scandal broke of a very famous pastor who paid an agency to fix the numbers and the ratings of a book he wrote to make it look like more people had read it and had approved of it. This snowballed into events that would, within a matter of months, lead to the closing of the multi-site mega Church he pastored. We have to make sure that approval of man does not hinder us from preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10 that sharing the Gospel will not make us popular. So if we find ourselves changing what we preach to get approval from men, we have to quickly repent of that. If we find that success in ministry is measured by the number of rear ends in the pews or the readership of he newsletter then we are looking in the wrong direction for approval.
Here are some ways to avoid the selfie Culture in your faith.
If you find that your seeking yourself rather than God, then ask yourself the question from 2 Corinthians 13 “Test yourselves to see if you are really in the faith?” Do you really know Jesus? If you find that Jesus is not sufficient in your life and that you need approval from other places then pray to him, make him your desire, and change your words to lift up Him rather than yourself.
About a month or so ago I took facebook off my phone then I blocked it so I couldn't get it back. I had posted something and I found myself going back to see how many likes I got. This is what I will call “Selfie-centredness” and I've been Selfie-Centred often.
According to researchers at California State university approval on facebook is like a drug. When you post something, every time you get a like it releases dopamine. This means you can actually be addicted to likes! But there is a deeper problem than the addiction. It is the desire for approval and the fear of missing out.
Social media allows us limitless opportunities to promote ourselves in a way that is totally controlled by us. The things that we say about ourselves are untestable and unverifiable by most of those who are reading it, so we can control the opinions people have about us. We may write about how well we performed at work or at school, but the people reading that post have no indication of what went on to get you to that point. Who helped you, what is your measure of success, how many sleepless nights did you experience leading up to it? The other question that goes unanswered is “what is the purpose for telling people how well you did?” In the real world people see your struggles, they can see the dark circles under your eyes, see the people who have helped you along the way, and they can see and know your failings.
It also allows us to create a culture around us that is engineered to point back to us. We have the ability to control our friend list. If someone disagrees with us or does not like what we've said, we can simply de-friend them. I have even heard of ministry strategies that involve a pastor strategically friending people they think might come to their Church. This can carry over into the real world when we find ourselves not listening to those who disagree with us and we find our selves shutting their voices down by labelling them argumentative or divisive. This doesn't start with social media. It is usually just as recognisable off line as it is online, but it's just as damaging.
The selfie culture can do a good deal of damage to us. While it may seem that everything is good, what is happening is that all the goodness in our lives becomes dependent on others and their opinions of us. Our wholeness is affected as we cannot feel complete without having recognition and approval. The following are ways that the selfie culture can be detrimental to our lives.
- We compromise our values to win approval.
- We may require greater levels of achievement from ourselves to get greater levels of approval.
- We may seek after doing things that will get us noticed rather than doing what God called us to do.
- We may become hypocritical or inconsistent depending on the different groups we are trying to win approval from.
- We become judgemental towards those who do not have approval.
- We stop confronting sin and injustice for fear of being disliked.
- We give up genuine relationships that involve honesty for surrounding ourselves with cheeleaders.
- We hide our failures which cuts us off from getting help with those failures.
But of course this has Biblical implications and Biblical Answers. Self promotion is Idolatrous. As we are told to do everything for the glory of God, we can't be doing everything for the glory of God if we are doing some things for the glory of ourselves. Phillipians 2:3 also gives us the command to do “nothing out of selfish ambition”. What are we doing when we post selfies and statements about all the amazing things we are doing. Are we doing that out of selfish ambition or for the glory of God. Or perhaps it is “in every effort to build each other up” as we read in Romans 14. These are the things we have to consider.
For those who work in ministry this becomes an even greater issue, as the Devil will love to see teacher, preachers, elders, and deacons, turn towards Idolotry. We have to be careful not to make an idol out of approval. Recently, a scandal broke of a very famous pastor who paid an agency to fix the numbers and the ratings of a book he wrote to make it look like more people had read it and had approved of it. This snowballed into events that would, within a matter of months, lead to the closing of the multi-site mega Church he pastored. We have to make sure that approval of man does not hinder us from preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10 that sharing the Gospel will not make us popular. So if we find ourselves changing what we preach to get approval from men, we have to quickly repent of that. If we find that success in ministry is measured by the number of rear ends in the pews or the readership of he newsletter then we are looking in the wrong direction for approval.
Here are some ways to avoid the selfie Culture in your faith.
- Consider Romans 14:19 in all your conversations weather online or off-line. Is what you are saying going to build others up or build yourself up?
- Remember 1 Corinthians 10:31 and follow this command to do “everything for the glory of God”. Are you glorifying God or yourself?
- Think about Matthew 8:38 are embarrassed to talk about Jesus in public but you have no qualms about talking about yourself?
- Are you being honest about your achievements or do you acknowledge God's grace and the help of those around you?
- Are you fishing for Compliments or likes?
If you find that your seeking yourself rather than God, then ask yourself the question from 2 Corinthians 13 “Test yourselves to see if you are really in the faith?” Do you really know Jesus? If you find that Jesus is not sufficient in your life and that you need approval from other places then pray to him, make him your desire, and change your words to lift up Him rather than yourself.