Continuing our look at what could be our Idols. Idols being anything that we are serving before God, any thing that we are carving out time for before God, something to consider, is the idol of our own self image. 

In Exodus 20:4 the 2nd Commandment tells us not to have idols, I would even say the 1st Commandment sits perfectly in this conversation being that people can make their idols their god. 

Let me share my testimony. At the age of 6, I was scarred on my face. This brought upon decades of me struggling with self esteem and accepting my mirror image. I saw my scars for years before I saw anything else physically good about me. I toughened up in my teens and decided to put up a wall to protect myself from hurtful words of others and from my own mind. 

I never asked God to help me with how I thought of myself. I floated in between hating how I looked and overly loving myself to make up for the down times. A rollercoaster self image made me want to spend more time beautifying myself over accepting my scars. 

Hair and nails were my specialty. I would give my time to friends and associates wanting a new look- it made me feel good. I thought it was a deed that made me a good person and pleased God. Although God was never in my conversation. 

 This kind of thinking created the perfect situation to create an idol of my self image. I had a couple decades of thinking I was honoring God because I was mostly a good person. I loved him in my heart, repented and prayed, but without inquiring to him about my weaknesses, I was putting him last. I would only call on him in anger or despair.

 I also wasn’t a reader, so learning from the bible on how to call on him and how he heals us inside and out, I wouldn’t learn until later in life. 

 I can remember God sending me to Ecclesiasties in my mid 20’s during a year I was attending church and as I read, I knew I had been living of my own mind. 

Ecclesiates 2:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. I was no longer blind- I saw the vain ways I’d come accustomed to. I saw how I thought I had been trying to protect myself, my feelings, by holding my own image high. 

It was God who I owed the glory. I thought back to myself at 6 yrs old screaming on the porch ground, blood pouring from my face, my mother telling ‘At least you can see, Thank God you still have your eyes’ and those words calming me. I was reminded of my blessings in my sorrow.

I had thought of those words over the years but couldn’t put them in a place of gratitude. I instead poured into self, attempting to build myself up making my image, my idol. 

After that first time reading Ecclesiastes to finish, I felt shame, it opened my eyes but that didn’t change my thinking. It took more time and things had to get worse before they got better. 

2009 I can remember taking my first Facebook selfie. I fell into the rabbit hole of attempting to perfect the selfie. Putting my self image over learning to be the person who God wanted me to be on the inside.

The self image idol was growing. It all seemed innocent at first, until minutes online turned to hours, taking pictures, retaking pictures, reviewing video. I would rationalize it by saying I was growing my self esteem, all the while putting God second or third then last on my list of priorities. 

Always something about taking my own picture made me feel odd, but I worked at it. My hair, my outfit, my background, I could go on, we have almost all been there. 

These days selfies have become photo shoots, we can clearly see how we can worship ourselves and for different reasons, some for self esteem, some to showcase their feelings, some to garner attention from others, there are a myriad of reasons. 

I believe it’s time for us as a people to read Ecclesiastes, studying Solomon’s wisdom and how he explains the vanity of this world and how it pales to the glory of God that is within us. 

We need to ask ourselves who we take these pictures for?

 Is it serving the Lord?

 In the time it takes to snap the pictures, proof the pictures and load them. How much of that time could have been given to the Lord? 

Did that picture honor God or yourself? 

Did those selfies further your closeness with the Lord or promote his word?

 Did the attention you receive grow your relationship with the Lord? 

These are valid questions we must consider and in the answer lies the truth of if we are living for the idol of our own self image. 

Following Christ and being about our Fathers business means taking the lens off of ourselves and putting it on the Lord. 

Instead of searching our camera roll for hours we should be seeking to reach others showcasing God’s image and testify of God’s grace and goodness. 

Lifting God’s word up and spreading the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ so that others who don’t know him can learn of his gift of everlasting life.

God knows our heart, let us weigh our actions and measure if we are praising the idol of self image, regardless of injury or beauty. 

It’s a journey we have in this life, let’s reflect on how we have lived it thus far. If we are praising the idol of our own self image- show us Lord. 

 I challenge you next time you are wanting to take selfies of yourself, tithe some of that time to the Lord, he will make you shine brighter than any camera flash. God Bless ❤️