From Selfies —> to Washbasins

Selfies. You see them everywhere—it's almost as if it's a right of passage to learn to posture, pose, and take pictures for all the world to see. Whatever did people do before there were selfies? How was self-absorption satisfied? Ah, back then there existed their more humble antecedents: the lowly mirrors.

The earliest mirrors found, circa 6,000 BC (I know, I know, as Christians we don't agree with carbon dating—have you seen the picture of the spark plug found in sedimentary rock purportedly thousands of years old?—but regardless of the exact date, these are definitely the oldest examples found on the planet), seem to have been made from polished stone such as obsidian, others from polished copper. What's the quote? "Woman, thy name is vanity." (Actually, it's a misquote from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the accurate being, "Frailty, thy name is woman." But the more commonly heard misquote is more to the point here.)

From the ends of time, a woman would look into her hand held mirror and preen this way and that way, imagine what her beau would think of this feature or that, arrange her hair into the most becoming manner she could. Maybe she couldn't share the image with others in those long gone days, but she could sure bask in it.

Now, while it is true that today's Christian is no longer under the covenant of the Old Testament, the narratives and directives there give us a bird's eye view into God's heart, what pleases Him, how He views things. With this in mind, a curious verse I recently came across in Exodus, one that refers to those selfies of old, brings up some interesting thoughts. I have read the passage many, many times, but it had never sprung out at me like it did this time. Referring to the laver in which the priests would perform their ablutions in order to enter the tabernacle proper to minister, it says: "And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Exodus 38:8).

First of all, it's interesting to note where these women were. They were gathered at the door of the tabernacle. Why did people gather there? To worship, to sacrifice—to meet with God. And what did God tell them in this passage? "Give me your lookingglasses." He asked of them a symbol of vanity and narcissism. While a mirror definitely has its uses, and does not always promote vanity and self, it symbolizes those things. God took the symbol of their vanity and transformed it into the basin in which the priests were to wash their hands and feet before ministering and offering sacrifices in the tabernacle, the place where the presence of God dwelt. For the priests, the representatives to God of the people, to experience God's presence, they had to cleanse themselves. The way in which this unfolded gives us the sense that to enter into God's very presence, self must be denied, offered up, as it were, to the Lord.

Fast forward to John 13. John writes there that Jesus, knowing who He was, knowing that He was the Son of God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, not just the Creator, but the Owner of everything here on earth, knowing all these things, He humbled Himself and washed the disciples' dusty feet. When Peter said he didn't want Jesus to do that, Jesus chid him, saying, "Peter, If I don't do that then you have nothing to do with me." That made Peter do an about face and say, "OK, Lord, whatever You want! In fact, go ahead and wash all of me!" Peter got it: being washed by God, even after we know Him and have a relationship with Him, is uber important!

Perhaps you, as myself, have participated in foot washings in a church setting. To be perfectly frank, I hope you got more out of the ritual than I did. The main thing I got out of it was not very spiritual—namely, embarrassment. It just didn't mean a lot to me. But back in Jesus' day, foot washing meant something.

Back then people walked around in sandals, and because there wasn't any pavement, their feet ended up going through a lot of dust and mud. When people got home, the first thing they would do is sit and have a servant wipe their feet, kind of like how we wash our hands nowadays before we eat. That was just something you did, the order of things. And it was relegated to the lowest man on the totem pole, because of the nature of the job. Dirt, smell, fungus, just plain yuckiness. Back then no one who was "somebody" would even think of lowering themselves to wash feet. Nonetheless, Jesus, knowing that He was the Owner and Creator of the universe, kneeled and washed the disciples' feet. It was a sacrificial labor of love.

Later in that same gospel, Jesus said, "You are now clean by the words which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). And Paul, in Ephesians 5:26, says that we are washed by the Word. Putting those thoughts together, we realize that Jesus makes us clean, dusts off the sediment of the world that tries to cling to us, by His Word, His spiritual water, so to speak. I think that's an addendum to the message He was trying to get across to the disciples in John 13—not only are we to humble ourselves to serve others, performing even the lowliest of tasks, but we must also be sure to let God keep us clean in the midst of a sinful world.

Even though we're new creations, even though we have been made new by the blood of Jesus and we have a new spirit man within, we walk in this world. Our spiritual feet get dusty because we can't help but be in contact with the imperfect things around us, the "dust"—the overheard bad word, the suggestive images we're subjected to not just on TV but even in "innocuous" settings like Walmart. We live in a very imperfect world and so, whether we like it or not, we are in contact with its dust, the things of this world that contaminate the purity of our resurrected spirit. Our spiritual feet can't help but get dirty. But, we do not have to fear!

There is a way to return to spiritual cleanliness! We can wash our "feet" in the Word, just like the priests of old washed away the dust of this world before offering sacrifices to the Lord. And what did the priests use to make that basin in which they washed? They used a source of vanity, those looking glasses that the women used to look at themselves and see how pretty they were. They melted those looking glasses down and made that laver in which to wash their feet.

God wants to take those things that feed our vanity, those things of pride, those things of self, offer them at His feet, and let Him use His Word to wash us and make us pure again.

As a mathematician would say: A + B + C = ABC. A yearning for the presence of God (A), added to giving up our love of self (B), added to washing our dusty feet in the laver of God's water (His Word) (C), brings us to ABC—HIS PRESENCE!!!!!!

God gave the women who longed for His presence a challenge. "Give up your vanity, give Me your self, and I will wash you from the things that hold you back from enjoying My presence." He says the same to us today: "Give Me what holds you to the vain things of this world, and I will wash you, renew you, and bless you with My presence."

It doesn't get any better than that.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 123:1-2).

Footnote: I take selfies. I am not condemning them (they are such a cool way to preserve memories with loved ones!), just saying that in all we do may we keep our hearts centered on Him, not us.