I see a lot of my fellow men struggling with their public persona, or perhaps it is more accurate to say women. From the lesser to the greater problems of self-consciousness seem to multiply with your audience. Some people are very comfortable with themselves and so as they are in front of more people they adapt, and are fine with it. Other people are always second guessing themselves and so the more eyes on them the more they doubt themselves. I have see this manifest itself in a few ways. Some people are always trying to prove they are better than they are, others are always trying to prove they are worse.

Even more true since our failed educational system gave us Obama and Obama liberated millions from gainful employment.

I can understand people trying to prove they are better than they are, it’s the pride of humanity, perhaps the most common and most vile of sins. But it seems odd that you would want to prove you are worse. I think it’s fair to say that, even though it seems odd it is the other side of the same coin. Making more of yourself or making less of yourself are really the same, you are making the self the focus and misrepresenting yourself. True humility is when you see yourself as you truly are. Be real. But what is real? I think it depends on who your god is. If your god is yourself, then anything you do or feel is by definition, real, true and good. If your god is other people, you are always taking Fb polls and trying to determining your worth for the day based on the number of likes your last selfie received. Or if you are a male, the pictures are of your latest project. There are many gods, but the solution to all of this mess is to make Jesus your Lord. If you hold yourself up to his character and honestly compare, you will probably find some flaws in yourself. Flaws that are preventing you from being fully human, by the true objective standard.

Now, that second god is a common demon these days. I have heard marketing described as trying to make the public perception meet the reality. But I think more often than not the purpose is to present the reality as something other than it really is. And today we each seem to be running our own marketing campaign, it’s called social media. But don’t let anyone find out, or realize the glimmer is off the rose. I just find it really odd that in an age of ‘don’t judge’ that’s all we do. We nit pick grammar, and every little fault of every public figure. Our entire press is geared towards destroying people who have risen by real merit. We are dying to believe that everything good is fake. Does that include God? I think it exempts us from our responsibilities, even our responsibilities as created creatures of that God.
On a larger scale western civilization has gone from extreme to extreme. From the rigid structure of Neo Classicism to the rule by emotion of Romanticism, to the reigning in of immorality that was Victorianism. But since our current conception of history is so narrow, these reaction are often happening yearly, monthly or even daily. We can’t leave well enough alone and stay in the middle with truth, because we don’t want to have anything to do with the Lord God of the Universe who made all of this. We want to try it our own way. Were the ‘solution’ to the last problem we created is the next overreaction. I still maintain that as a whole we are moving towards that which is more and more casual. If it’s spur-of-the-moment, with absolutely no planning or forethought, then it must be good, art even. Except for running half marathons. In which case, you can’t plan too much. And so you see people reacting and overreacting. We are bipolar.

There is an alternative. Instead of trying to earn the praise of our many gods, by works, which is always the way, find what is good, true, and beautiful, based on the real source, the One True God, and love it. Take that trip to that exotic location and post a million beautiful pictures because you really loved it, instead of trying to keep up with someone who travels more. Maybe you will inspire someone else to take a trip that they will love too. That’s good peer pressure, that’s good marketing. It’s selling something bigger than ourselves. And if something is difficult, don’t be afraid to share and reach out to others for support. Instead of worrying that your profile is too glamorous and in need of something ‘real’ or ‘down and dirty’. As your fellow Christians reach out to encourage you, they too will be encouraged in their own trials.

There is a time for all things. A time to mourn and a time to dance(Ecclesiastes 3). I’m not sure if this new push for the casual is laziness or a philosophical overreaction to too much structure, but it’s not good. There have always been glosses, to cover pimples or sins. There was airbrushing before Photoshop. It’s fine for a woman to put on some make-up, so long as she is not coving a prideful heart. You don’t put lipstick on a pig. It’s good to put on your sunday best as long as there is a soul underneath. There are vessels for honor and vessels for dishonor. There are body parts for public consumption and those which are kept hidden. Letting it all hang out is shocking at first, but very soon you are left with nothing being sacred, nothing is special. No parts are for anything, we are just left in a soup of Eastern Mysticism, where everything is one. The only problem is that then everything is nothing. Without distinct things, you have no relationships, no contrasts, no paradox. Even rebellion is nothing, it has nothing to be contrary to. We understand this a little, I often see people taking endless pictures of every laden plate before they eat, but I don’t often see the after pictures. Come on, what happened to keeping it real? Now maybe this is the future, but I hope not.  I envision a future which looks a lot like the medieval past.  Where discipline is considered real.  Where we can all work towards a standard that is better than ourselves, without being called fake.

So post your food if you love it. But don’t show off. And don’t be afraid of gloss. Post pictures of those beautiful, happy family moments. Clean the house before guests come over. Keep some things hidden, off scene(obscene). If you tell a good story and people can only find jealousy in their hearts, that’s their problem. If people are offended by that which is true, that’s their problem. Don’t be afraid to be what you were made to be in Jesus the Christ, even if it means being better or worse than others.

Further up and Further In: https://www.christkirk.com/sermon/surveying-text-lamentations/