Author Chat with Tessa Emily Hall on Her New Book for Teens

Tessa Emily Hall is one of my go-to authors for young adult inspirational fiction, and when I heard she was releasing a non-fiction devotional for teens, I wanted to know more. Today, she shares about Love Your Selfie, her new devotional designed to help teen girls gain a biblical perspective of their worth in Christ.

Q: What need do you see present in the lives of teenagers today that you hope Love Your Selfie will help meet?

The issues of self-shame, insecurity, and comparison is nothing new amongst teens; however, I believe the measure in which teens have dealt with these issues have increased. It’s been less than ten years since I, myself, was a teen, but I feel like the pressure to be perfect has since reached new heights.

These days, teens desire to attain the polished perfection that they are exposed with on social media through the aid of filters. Their measure of worth fluctuates day-to-day as it’s often attached to the number of likes on their posts and followers on social media. And, of course, there seems to be no escaping from the cyber bullying that runs rampant on Instagram and YouTube. Because of this, I don’t believe there has ever been more of an identity crisis amongst youth than there is today.

I hope that, by drawing from my personal experiences with self-shame and insecurity, I can help these girls seek God and His Word along their quest for identity and confidence. Through the use of Scriptures that proclaim the truth about who we are in Christ, girls will be challenged to view themselves through the eyes of the Word rather than the eyes of the world. Then, as they rise up in confidence, they will be better equipped to utilize their God-given gifts to reach out and extend God’s Kingdom.

Q: What experiences from your own life impacted the writing of Love Your Selfie?

This devotional comes from a vulnerable place, only because self-shame was an issue that I personally wrestled with as a tween/teen as well. I often felt like people were secretly judging me for my “flaws”; because of that, I would often keep myself hidden. But as I drew closer to Christ and rooted my identity in Him, His love enabled me to rise back up with boldness. He helped me learn how to embrace my uniqueness rather than condemning myself for being “different.”

Throughout this journey, I discovered why the enemy wants to keep us paralyzed with insecurity: because he doesn’t want us to reach out. He wants us to remain hidden rather than being like a “city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). Because if the enemy can cripple us with self-shame and insecurity, then we will never gain the confidence we need to step up, to speak out, or to extend a helping hand. We will never come to realize the full potential God has placed within us—gifts we should use to build the Body of Christ.

Q: Selfies, selfie-sticks, photo filters, and more—All these tools have become commonplace today. How can teens find a balance between sharing about themselves and not becoming overly self-focused?

Great question. The message of self-acceptance can often cause Christians to cringe—and, really, I get it. We don’t want to preach the wrong message of pride; after all, pride is the root of all evil. We have been called to die to our flesh, to bear our cross, to focus more on others rather than ourselves, to live as Jesus lived. And, yes, there is potential danger for the message of self-acceptance/love to be taken too far.

But from my perspective, self-acceptance is different from self-pride. Self-acceptance involves being confident (not proud) in your own skin. In the way that God has designed you. When we grow in confidence and understand our worth in Christ, we will then be motivated to treat ourselves with care (which is scriptural). It’s hard to care for something or someone when we don’t see the value of it. Then, as we step into our identity in Christ, we will become unashamed to embrace the unique ways in which we have been called to share the gospel.

Isn’t this partly why Christ paid such a high price for us? So that we could grasp just how much we are worth in His eyes? So that we could live in freedom from condemnation, including the kind that comes from self-shame?

The Bible makes it clear that there is only hate and love; light and darkness; hot and cold. No in between. This makes me wonder—if we aren’t loving ourselves, then are we hating ourselves? And if so, is that really the behavior in which we should treat a creation of our Creator?

I believe it comes down to the state of our hearts. The journey of self-acceptance should never be taken apart from God’s Word; if it is, then, yes, we’d certainly become at risk of idolizing ourselves. We’d become at risk of living for ourselves rather than for God and His children. But if this journey is taken as a result of our time spent with God and in His Word, then our hearts will remain in the right place. Our hearts will then remain focused on what matters to Jesus: loving God, loving others, and living in total surrender to Him.

Freedom is simply a byproduct of drawing closer to Christ.

Q: With social media, we often see only people’s “best faces.” How can this reality lead to an unhealthy comparison, and what should young people remember when viewing content online?

Exactly! Social media is yet another means by which we mask our insecurities, considering it presents us with the temptation to create a persona. We can hide our true selves behind the disguise of photo filters. We can post pictures that reflect our best adventures in life and toss out photos that reflect our everyday difficulties.

Yet even though we remember this when it comes to hiding our insecurities, we tend to forget this as it applies to other people. In other words, we tend to compare our “flaws” with the filtered versions of others on Instagram. This is what has created an unhealthy trap of comparison amongst teen girls—resulting in even more of a self-hatred issue.

This is why it’s important for girls to remember that reality is only found in real life. Not on social media.

When we draw closer to Christ, we build spiritual muscles and are less likely to give in to the temptations of the flesh. I believe this applies with the temptation to compare as well. Because, yes, I do believe that comparison is a sin, considering it comes from a place of both pride and jealousy. Yet this relationship with Christ enables us to focus less on ourselves and embrace our God-given identity; therefore, that trap of comparison will eventually becomes less appealing as we scroll through Instagram. 

Q: What is one takeaway you hope teenagers will hold onto after reading this book?

I hope teen readers will discover that God has designed them in a unique way for a reason, as a way to help them fulfill the specific calling He has placed on their lives. A calling that is centered on furthering God’s Kingdom. 

About the Author

About Love Your Selfie

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