It's All About Me...Really?

Lent (the season leading up to Easter) asks us to get really honest with ourselves, so I begin in that Spirit...

While few of us would be so brazen as to proclaim, "It really is all about me!", there is a voice within that wants it to be that way. We condemn selfishness in general, but then something deep down says, "It really is about my needs and wants." That deep down voice is reinforced all around us. We hear, "Have it your way!", "The customer is always right!" (no, not always), "You are in control!", "You are the princess!" (or 'the man', as the case may be), "You deserve this piece of paradise ... this car that reflects your power ... this suit that will make you stand out!" If you watch television commercials, for even a few minutes, you will see how they appeal to this deep down voice to convince you to spend money for self-gratification.

There is even something of this that carries over into our spiritual lives. After seventeen years in ordained ministry, I have seen many people come to and leave churches proclaiming, "I am not being fed in the way that I want to be fed." Instead of seeing church as a community to serve and give to God and others, it becomes a place for people seeking a continuous spiritual high week after week, and when they don't get it, they move on. This is not only unrealistic, it is un-Christian! Even we pastors have a tendency to measure success in ministry by how large our churches are and how popular we have become. It's all about me! Really? Haven't we missed the point?

Jesus looked into the face of this sort of self-focus when James and John asked him if they could each sit in a place of power and prestige when Jesus came into his Kingdom (see Mark 10:35-45). They made the gospel all about their own wants and needs. Jesus responded by saying they misunderstood discipleship. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve others. In essence he came not for self-focus, but for a greater calling-to show others how loved they are by God. It is a shift from self-focus to mission-focus. 

To grow into people with hearts more like Jesus', we have to move beyond our self-focus. It doesn't mean that you and I are unimportant or that our needs don't matter.  What it does mean is that we have to be really intentional about making sure not everything is about us, that we don't become too self-focused. We have to hear that deep down voice when it begins to speak and remind ourselves that we are made for so much more. 

Together we are the hands and feet of Jesus!

Brett