I’ve wrapped my Christmas gifts in brown packaging paper with beautiful bows since I was in college. Now, my artistic husband draws on the Kraft paper for our boys, other family members, and dear friends. Showing his art work in my featured image for this post is me testifying about his talent. Isn’t the news of his ability somehow easier to digest coming from me than if it was him, the skilled one, declaring his creativity about himself?
Self-declaration is the reason I had to get off of social media. I’m not saying that everyone who is on social media is consumed with themselves. In fact, I have a lot of people in my life (adult friends and students I teach) who handle social media with great maturity. I just know I am not that mature. I tried my hand twice at Instagram and quickly realized my sin nature can’t handle the responsibility of self-check social media requires. Those self-examining questions I’d ask myself – Did you post that to glorify yourself?, Did you want people to see you as beautiful, together, accomplished, busy, athletic, and hilarious?, or Were you trying to assert yourself as confident, successful, and full of life? – all came back with a resounding yes.
Scripture tells us that since the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) mankind has been trying to make a name for ourselves, yet this is not our design. Our design is to bear witness of another.
Jesus says in John 5:31, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.” Isn’t it interesting the very person who had every right to testify about himself and would have done it perfectly chose not to, yet we spend our days testifying about ourselves and reading other people’s testimonies about themselves?
What Jesus has done and accomplished for us is a message that requires messengers to carry the good news. He did all the work of deliverance. He took upon himself the wrath of God our sin deserves. Yet, he ascended back into heaven so we could bear witness about what he has done.
What if what we posted in this New Year (and every year) wasn’t about our lives? What if we stopped testifying about ourselves and our children and instead we bore witness about the one Child who changed everything? What if from behind screens and in real life we became messengers who testify about Jesus?