Selfie Spirituality

Have you noticed it? Selfies. Selfies everywhere. Selfies on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve even taken a few. Selfie sticks, which were once thought ridiculous, are now common and acceptable. And it’s affecting everything we do, including how we relate to God.

God?

Yes, God.

Whether you instagrammed the last time you went out for coffee to read your Bible, pinned the latest margin that you colored in in your Bible, or hashtagged yourself doing something noble for the world to see, we have a ton of new ways to let people know we’re being spiritual. But our hearts haven’t caught up with our technology.

Jesus said, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven,” (Matthew 6:2). He goes on to talk about three different areas where this applies: giving, praying, and fasting. I’m sure there are tons of other sacrifices and disciplines He could have mentioned. But the principle is this: If you try and get recognition for what you do, you can have it, but that will be your only reward.

Instead, Jesus offers us rewards in Heaven for the things we do that no one else know about. I’ve gone too far with this. I’ve shut people out of my life in weird ways so they don’t know the good I’ve done. But it’s the heart that Jesus is going after: Are you doing what you’re doing to be admired by others?

If you’ve hung around this long, there’s a secret I want to share: There is an intimacy with God that comes from sacrifice that no one sees and its worth more than all the likes and retweets this world has to offer. Begin a secret life with God. Not a fake life, but do things that only He can see. Start asking Him for things that benefit the world, but only you and He know about. Give to someone who could never repay without being linked to the giving. And all the while, talk to Jesus about it and get His heart.

And if you get His heart, you will never, ever want to trade it for another like again.