There are few stories in Greek mythology more profound in their commentary on modern life than the story of Narcissus. Narcissus is the infamous boy so handsome, so attractive, that he sang to himself, “You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.” (Or was that Franki Valli?) As a result, catching a glimpse of himself in a pool, he was unable to tear himself away and eventually withered away for lack of food and drink.
The idea of being so taken with our own images that we neglect life’s basic necessities seems outlandish…until we spend five minutes surfing social media. Talk about narcissism. And nothing bespeaks the narcissism of our age like the ubiquity of the selfie—this addictive habit of taking pictures of ourselves and posting them over and over and over again…as if we are afraid our friends might forget what we look like. Don’t get me wrong, I am very appreciative of the benefits of social media—especially in the way it helps to connect us with people. But as with most things, it has its positives and it has its negatives. And one of the greatest negatives is that it only encourages our natural predisposition to focus on the self. Jesus is the ultimate antidote to this predisposition toward self-absorption. Certainly, we see this in the cross—in His example of selflessness and self-sacrifice. We see it in His railing against those who were so hyper-focused on self-image that they were blind to the Word of God, even when the Word of God was standing right in front of them. We see it in His relentless rebuke of those so consumed with self-love that they choked on notions of loving neighbor as self and an all-consuming love of God. Of course, it’s easy for me to read Christ’s rebukes and say, “preach it Jesus, let ‘em have it, sock it to ‘em.” But what I must not overlook, what I must not fail to see, is that Jesus’ message is as much for me. Selflessness and self-sacrifice seem awfully admirable, until they are required of me. Hyper-focus on self-image is easy to see (and condemn) in others, but difficult to diagnose in me. And I am all too happy to rebuke self-love in my neighbor, all-the-while refusing to address the self-love in me. It seems strange that we who are followers of Jesus should so easily succumb to the very things he spoke most powerfully against. But in some ways, modern notions of spirituality not only allow for such narcissistic tendencies, but encourage them. As Eugene Peterson so insightfully states in his book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (pg. 243-4): It is an odd phenomenon to observe followers of Jesus, suddenly obsessed with their wonderfully saved souls, setting about busily cultivating their own spiritualities. Self-spirituality has become the hallmark of our age. The spirituality of Me. A Spirituality of self-centering, self-sufficiency and self-development…. But holy living, resurrection living, is not a self-project. We are a people of God and cannot live holy lives, resurrection lives, as individuals. We are not a self-defined community; we are a God-defined community. The love that God pours out for and in us creates a community in which that love is reproduced in our love for one another. True love, God’s love, longs to reproduce itself in love for others. We were designed for community…self-sacrificial, committed community. Growing spiritually was never meant to be an individualistic, isolationist pursuit—we are designed for growing together. What does the pursuit of growing together look like? It looks like overlooking an offense, like setting aside my preferences for the unity of the whole, like willingly leaving my comfort zone to share Christ’s love with others, like humbly setting aside my agenda for kingdom agenda, like giving of my time, money and love for the upbuilding of Christ’s people. So, go ahead, take those selfies. I’m probably only bitter because of my lack of skill at it, anyway. But more and more, make the difficult, selfless choices that serve the community, the Kingdom, and the Savior! After all, it is our Savior who creates this community, who calls us to community, and who sustains us in community until His return! In Christ’s Love, Pastor Dan
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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