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Put off your old self . . .
Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22, ESV).
When people travel, they post selfies.
Very common are beautiful views of creation, with a distorted-by-camera-angle face, in front of the landscape. And also beach scenes, with a close-up selfie of legs and ugly toes, stretched out on a recliner, overlooking waves and sand in the distance.
UGGGHH!
If I had a vote, I would outlaw selfies unless, of course, you look like Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce with a visage that can compete with sunsets and flowing tree-lined streams.
But most of us don’t!
The Bible teaches that we should put off the old selfie (OGV translation) and all of its former life, which is corrupt and deceitful. The path of following Christ is not self or the past but a new life.
Be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Ephesians 4:23, ESV).
When we follow Jesus, our focus turns away from self. Our renewed self begins to understand that we should not . . .
. . . copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think (Romans 12:2, NLT).
When we focus on self, invariably, our minds turn to lust, pride, and despair. When we change our minds and turn away from self, we think about serving, forgiving, and hope. Do we want the old self or the new self?
Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24, ESV).
We put on the new by following the image of Jesus in the Bible. The Jesus-selfie looks like this . . .
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7, ESV).
Jesus taught that our words reveal who we are (Matthew 12:34), but in modern times, the content of our selfies speaks to our values and the true nature of our inner self. I realize that I’ve probably offended most of you by panning your selfies, and to be honest, this Interruption has a tinge of sarcasm to make my point.
But I won’t mind your face or toes in a selfie every now and then if you also post a selfie of you feeding the poor, discipling the lost, or reading your Bible.
Modern media and life itself provide opportunities for self-glory or Jesus-glory — let’s
choose Jesus.
P.S. Given the content of this blog, I thought you would enjoy a selfie from me. Look closely. Do you see it? Yes, my leg is on a beach!
