DOES JESUS THINK YOU ARE DOING YOUR "SELFIES" WRONG?

If you have facebook, twitter or any other form of social media, you have seen selfies every day, haven't you? The "bathroom mirror" shot, the "duck-lips" shot, the "look-down-my-shirt" shot, the "I'm-laying-down-and-looking-sexy" shot, the "look-at-my-new-shirt" shot, the "look-how-long-my-tongue-is" shot, ...you know what I am talking about.

One website I saw described taking too many selfies as "selfitis" and here is how to tell how bad you have it...

• Borderline selfitis : taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day but not posting them on social media
• Acute selfitis: taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day and posting each of the photos on social media
• Chronic selfitis: Uncontrollable urge to take photos of one’s self round the clock and posting the photos on social media more than six times a day

Why are people so obsessed with selfies? Is it because nobody else is taking their photos as often as they want them done? Is it because we are so obsessed with ourselves? As if selfies weren't popular enough, now you can use a "selfie stick" to get more angles of perspective in your photos! 

Would Jesus Do A Selfie?

At first, you may quickly respond with a "no" but think for a minute about how He lived here on earth. Yes, I agree that He wouldn't take photos of only Himself and post words like "Look at how great I am" or "Who can walk on water? THIS GUY!" But what if He used selfies for another reason? (I know, this is a stretch but hang with me for a minute.)

Matthew 19:13 (ESV)  Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14  but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 

When the people were bringing their children to Jesus, the disciples tried to stop them but Jesus said to leave them alone. In fact, look at what He said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them. I can see Jesus reaching out to the kids and laughing at their excitement. I think Jesus would say to them, "Hey, let's take a selfie together!". Why? To show the kids how much He loved them and to show the disciples that He valued everyone, no matter how old they were. 

How about Matthew 20:29 (ESV)  And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30  And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31  The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32  And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33  They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34  And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. 

The blind men were crying out to Jesus for help but the crowd rebuked them and told them to shut up. Jesus didn't treat harshly like the crowd did, He had pity on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they had recovered their sight! If you were one of the blind men, wouldn't you have been excited? Can't you just see them smiling and thanking Jesus for taking the time to help them? And can't you see Jesus smiling back at the two men who previously could not see anyone smiling at them? Maybe Jesus would say something like, "I am glad you two are so happy. I am excited for you. Hey, let's take a selfie together!" Why? To show the two men how much He cared about them and to show the crowd how you are supposed to treat people.

Let's do one more. John 21:15 (ESV)  When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16  He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17  He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 

Here is the touching story of how Jesus had focused on Peter after Jesus had been raised from the dead. If you think back in the scripture, you will remember that Jesus had warned Peter about the fact that he would deny knowing Jesus in Luke 22:31 (ESV)  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33  Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34  Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” 

Peter denied Jesus just like He said he would in Luke 22:54 (ESV)  Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55  And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56  Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57  But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58  And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59  And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62  And he went out and wept bitterly. 

So in the passage from John 15, Jesus is showing love to Peter even though Peter had denied knowing Him. Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love Me?" The scripture doesn't show Him asking the rest of the disciples questions like that. I can imagine Jesus saying, "Soon I will be leaving here and going back to My Father but before I go, I want you to know something. I am proud of you and I am glad you are back." Maybe Peter was having a hard time believing that Jesus could forgive him for doing such a thing. And then to reassure Peter, Jesus might say, "Let's do a selfie to be a reminder of My love for you."

Now you may think that I am being sacrilegious but I promise that my intentions are pure. I am not trying to distort scripture, I am trying to emphasize to you how much Jesus loves us... even when others try to push us away. When we include others in our selfies, we are telling them "I love you".

Before I end this post, I want to validate something to you. Even though I have never seen Jesus take a selfie with someone or heard about Him doing so, I know that when I have taken a selfie with someone, I can feel His love flowing through us. Keep smiling. Here are a few of those selfies. And yes, I love these folks.