How Social Media Normalized Self-glorification

Before the advent of social media, pride, arrogance and self glorification have always existed. Back then, it was easier to spot self aggrandization and glorification for what they were, pride and arrogance. It was easier to rebuke it or condemn it but in recent times, this is not the case. With the trends and captions on social media about self love, self crush e.t.c, it has become harder to pinpoint when the positive self talk crosses the line of humility. As a result of the law of attraction heavily shared and practised by most internet users, affirmations has become a common thing to mouth every now and then.

Affirmations are positive words spoken in faith about one’s past, present and future. They leverage on the biblical teachings of the power of faith, the tongue and spoken word. Because of this, people go overboard with it, from affirming good things about themselves and their lives to outright self-glorification. To be humble and clad with a lowly demeanor is now interpreted as lack of confidence, self pity or low self-esteem. Narcissism is on the increase. People want attention to revolve around them all the time and get offended when they are not in the spotlight. This is a worse case of low self-esteem because they have lost their true confidence which need not be fed. Their egos are bloated and empty without substance, needing to be filled every now and then with attention and approval.

Proverbs 27:1-“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

This verse connotes that the outcome of tommorow is uncertain. This is true primarily because we do not know what tomorrow has in store for us. However, we can command and declare only good things for ourselves by faith. Tommorow is uncertain because God has the final say in our lives and we are never in complete knowledge of what He will do. Even at that, we know that He will always do good and great for us.

The humbling thought in all of this is that God is good, all the time. We are at His mercy. He blesses whoever He wants to bless, whether they deserve it or not. He makes the rain fall and the sun shine on the good, bad and ugly. He is a gracious God. This means that we are who we are today by His grace and mercy. He could choose to do whatever He wants to do and whatever He decides, we cannot do anything about it. In all of His control and power, God still chooses to be kind and merciful, blessing us everyday in every way.

God is wonderful and this is why we should never glory in anything but him. If we say we are rich, He gave it to us. If we say we are smart, He gave it to us. If we say we are good looking, He gave us those good looks. If we say we are alive and healthy, He gave us life and health.
People die everyday, smarter people, kinder people, sweeter people, greater people. They die. There are people so good, so kind, so obedient to God, so holy and upright that it is as if they did not deserve to die but they are no more. We are alive. Whatever we have, we did not earn it. We did not even merit it. God just chose to bless us. This is why we give Him all the glory and all the praise.

Psalms 127: 1 – “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

All those people going through hell, they did not sign up for it. Bad things happen and it could be you. Everyone is important. Everyone. I forgive myself for the times I called some people ‘useless’. Everyone is important. Although in order to get the most from life, you would want to mingle with productive people but everyone is important. We are all human. We breathe the same air. Our bodies are made the same way. We all have feelings and emotions and we are all going to die someday. No one knows when his or her day will come. We are the ones who will make the world what it will be, a beautiful, wonderful world or a wicked world. It is all up to us. No one knows tomorrow so don’t look down on anyone, God can chose to take someone from a prison to a palace or from a king to an animal. You just have to acknowledge His name because we are nothing without Him.
Absolutely nothing.

It is harder to be humble nowadays because people will think you lack confidence in yourself or that you have a low self-esteem. In spite of that, it is good to acknowledge your hard work and how great you are as a person. However, if you do not give reverence to the source of your strength, talent and beauty, you will only be endangering yourself with the risk of pride and arrogance. I pray this will not be your case.

Some people are also nice, kind and sweet for as long as they need you. They are humble for as long as they do not have the upper hand. This is why the true character of a person cannot be discerned in only one season. To know the true content of a person, you have to see him or her with power and influence, and then without anything. Some people seem humble and down to earth because of the circumstances they find themselves in. They know that they need to be humble and lowly in order to get by. But once, he or she is empowered, that is when you will know the true character of the person. It is important to be humble for humility sake alone and good for goodness sake alone. That way, your goodness and humility is unconditional. In season and out of season, you are still the same.

How can a person be humble in a true way? Not because of constrictions or limitations? A person can only be truly humble when he or she has realized how vain life is. When he or she has realized that what goes around, comes around. When he or she has realized that when you are good and humble, you make the world a better place, better than you found it. When you are good and humble, the hidden wisdom therein is that you automatically set yourself up for success and upliftment. What you give is what you will get. When you are good, you are being good to the other person on a short term and good to yourself on a long term. When you are humble, you are raising someone else higher above you on a short term and raising yourself up above everyone else on a long term.

Matthew 23:11 – “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”