Originally published Friday, 13 March 2015.
With the overwhelming flood of social media sites and phone apps filling every millisecond of our lives, it is blatantly clear how self-centered our culture has become as we post about our lives and our opinions numerous times a day.
With the invention of the front-facing camera on our cell phones, we are now able to take endless pictures of ourselves with ease called “selfies.” I have to ask, if we want to see ourselves that much we might as well consider carrying around a mirror everywhere we go, right?
…Vain much?
And now Carly Simon’s voice is singing in my head…
And now I can hear the kids at my youth group asking, “Who’s Carly Simon?”
But seriously, are we too focused on ourselves?
This is a question I have recently asked myself as I am finding myself dwelling on my own issues so much that it is overwhelming my thoughts, completely over-crowding my mind, and creating more problems than solutions. Also, as someone who enjoys praying for others, I’m realizing how less and less of my time talking to God is spent interceding on others’ behalf and more and more of my time is spent asking Him to simply “help me, me, ME” or ignoring Him altogether and trying to figure it all out myself.
Am I self-centered?
Dictionary.com says:
self-cen·tered (adjective)- preoccupied with oneself and one's affairs.
"he's far too self-centered to care what you do"
synonyms:
egocentric, egotistic, egotistical, egomaniacal, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-seeking,self-interested, self-serving
I have been completely preoccupied with myself and my own affairs.
And I am utterly convicted.
James 3:16 tells us, “Where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there” (NKJV).
Whoa… “every EVIL thing?”
Are you finding yourself confused and needing clarity regarding your circumstances?
What about worry? Are you finding yourself frantic, anxious, or on edge often?
These feelings are not from God and are rooted in fear:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).
When we cast our anxieties upon the Lord like 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to do, we are humbling ourselves and telling the Lord we know that we cannot figure out this life on our own. This act of surrender frees our lives up to think upon truth found only in God’s word, to spend time communing with the Lord, and to be able to lift others up in prayer. Not to mention being mentally present for people who we cross paths with on a daily basis who may need some encouragement, a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on. We aren’t the only ones in the world with problems, so why do we act like it?
The less we focus on ourselves and our problems, the more freedom, clarity, and peace we will experience.
So let’s shift the focus off of ourselves for a while…your mind (and your Instagram) could use a little rest…
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