So it’s official. We are evolving backwards. First there were cave paintings from which written language and art evolved and now we are back to images with “Emoji”.

Do you remember the very first emoticon that started making the rounds? Supposedly, they’ve been around since 1982. We used “:-)”, read sideways, to denote a smiley face, long before emoticons turned into emoji, those small, colorful, and fun images used in digital communication.

They took off in the 2010’s, and now there are 2,666 emoji in the Unicode Standard as of June 2017, 157 new emoji were allotted for 2018. Just imagine, we can pepper our text messages, emails, and social media with over 2800 officially sanctioned symbols of all shapes, sizes and colors.  If you want to shrug your shoulders or wink your eye; there is an emoji for that!

Emoji have pretty much evolved into characters for a new millennial language. Most all modern electronic devices come equipped with an emoji keyboard; the Oxford English Dictionary chose the face-with-tears-of-joy emoji as its “word”of the year in 2015.

Some say these images are the future of a universal language. “Emoji”, from the Japanese meaning “picture character”, is in many respects language-like.  Some believe it will be the new universal language, following up on the old SOS signal; man could communicate with emoji characters across all language barriers.  Such a change, could even be used by the anti-Christ to help usher in his one-world government.

Some believe that embracing emoji is the only option if people want to interact productively in the future. Someone who is not using them is not an effective communicator and therefore not effective an inducing an emotional response,  For example, in most dating sites survey results show greater success at finding a match among people who use emoji more regularly in their online messaging. The same survey also found emoji users were more likely to want to get married.

Although human language existed from the creation of man (Adam communed with God and with Eve), it is doubtful if writing was actually necessary.  Later as the need for non-verbal communication was needed for recording events it is those cave paintings that are believed to be the first form of sophisticated human communication.  These paintings were amazingly universal as they focused primarily on animals. Ancient paintings in Central America look amazingly identical to the paintings found in Egypt or China.

It also turns out that communicating with symbols is unique to the human species; in fact, it’s one of the standout features that distinguish us from all other life.  Many animals, including the chimpanzee, can be taught to recognize and utilize symbols, but they’ve never been taught to create them for themselves.

Scientist even say that your use of emoji can reveal your personality type.  For example, French speakers use four times as many heart emoji than other languages. French is the only language where a “smiley face”does not top the usage list.  Arabic speakers use four times the average number of flower and plant emoji.  Russian speakers use three times the average rate of romantic emoji.  Australia’s emoji use includes double the average amount of alcohol-themed emoji, and 65% more drug emoji than the average. Americans lead for the use of a random assortment of emoji & categories, including skulls, birthday cake, and LGBT designations.

Another study reveals that the people using positive emoji tend to be more agreeable in nature. In other words, people who use smiley faces are probably people in the real world who are more smiley to people.

Another factor identified was that people who commonly used emoji were more socially receptive and open in sharing their feelings.  It was also determined that people who were more aware of how they come across to others were less likely to use sad emoji.

Our Language Has Gotten Simpler.

If you sent Shakespeare a cool joke, he might respond like this: “with mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.”  By the 1960’s we might respond with: “Man that was the coolest and grooviest joke I’ve ever heard.”  By the 1990’s it was reduced to: “Gosh Dude, that wus funnie.”  By the 2000’s it was: “LOL ” Today, it’s just a laughing emoji.  But, in a world of snippet text messages perhaps emoji serve a vital purpose. In the 1950’s, psychologist Albert Mehrabian, determined that only 7 percent of communication is verbal (what we say),while 38 percent is vocal (how we say it—tone of voice)and 55 percent is nonverbal (what we do and how we look while we’re saying it; your body language).  Therefore, when we’re not communicating face-to-face, the vast majority of our communication skills are negated.

Emoji have become a way to convey the tone and non-verbal context behind our texts, Emoji work alongside snippets of text as a way to give more contexts to a message.

In the real world, the use of hand gestures and expressions play a vital role in the way we communicate with someone. It helps them understand our meaning.  When you can’t see the person you’re communicating with, an emoji is an effective option. It’s howyou emotionally express the feelings hid in your words.  Your choice of emoji can dramatically alter the meaning of the sentence it’s included in and how you should respond.

Imagine receiving this message from your best friend: “I tripped and hit my head on the kitchen table” followed by that iconic laughing face. Their words communicate that your friend had an accident, but the emoji lets you know that they are apparently not hurt seriously. It is the emoji lets you know how to respond.

Chances are you’ve seen the pain charts used at the hospital. You can pick a number, illustrated by an emoji to describe your level of pain.  Many companies are also using a scale of smiley faces when asking for feedback on their services. It is believed that using emoji can give a greater depth of insight than regular words or numbers; especially across language or cultural barriers.

So, let’s take a test; an honest but personal evaluation.

First Question:  What emoji would most consistently describe your personality and demeanor?

Second Question:  What emoji would your spouse (parent, child, or closest friend) choose as identifying your most consistent personality or demeanor? Would it be the same as yours?

Do your loved ones seldom see a smiley face on you?  God wants his children to display joy in their lives. Of course God is not interested in giving you a temporary smiley face. He has no interest in giving you a shallow happiness that melts in the heat of adversity.  He wants to give you something that will last.  Has something been taken from you? Your health? Your house? Have you buried a dream? Have you buried a marriage? Buried a friend? As you look at these burial plots of life, is your smiley face buried there, too?  If so, you may have substituted courageous joy for contingent happiness. Happiness is always dependent upon a circumstance.

Perhaps your loved ones might use the emoji of a hot temper, laziness, or envy to describe you.  Could it be the emotion of constant worry or pouting best defines how others see you?  God wants us to clearly display our position as His children.

“Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us…”

Ephesians 5:1-2

If we’re going to imitate Him, then we have to ask ourselves the question: What do our faces communicate to those we encounter? Do people leave our presence feeling like they’ve seen the face of God?  If it’s true that a majority of our communication is nonverbal, we’d better pay attention to what our faces look like.

“…therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God…”

Genesis 33:10

A man named Jacob spoke these words to his brother, Esau. May this be our testimony also?

I know there are times when sharing the fact we are hurting, broken, or vulnerable can be a good thing.  Sometimes that is the only way to discover the help we really need.  Yet, we also need to utilize the power within us to overcome the adversity the world throws at us and become someone that will make the world a little thirstier for what we have in Christ.

Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry over forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries