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Sep 08, 2024 06:00am

It’s All About Me!

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“Share a random piece of advice.” This was the conversation topic with a group of ladies the other day. We were sitting around drinking coffee and enjoying each other’s company. When it came my turn to share, my advice was simple. I said, “Ladies, It’s not about you” That’s it. My advice to them was to remember that as a Christian, life is not about you. Your job, your marriage, your parenting, your studies or schooling, the church you belong to, or the decisions you make are not about you. We are bought with a price and not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19- 20). Everything we do, say, think, or accomplish should be for God and His glory.

But have you ever met that person? You know, the one who thinks the whole world revolves around them. Everything is about them. If you are hurting, they are in more pain. If you have a praise, they have a bigger praise. If you have a story to tell, they have a better story. Life, work, relationships, and even service to God is about what makes them happy. It’s all about them!

Satan is the master of self. It’s all about him as well. “I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne. I will sit on the mount. I will ascend above the heights. I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). There is no doubt that He loves it when we act just like him.

It’s safe to say we all tend to fall into the sin of being self-focused at times. The pride of life creeps its ugly head and shows out. That’s why I constantly remind myself that it’s not about me. However, there is one time that it should be all about me. There is a time that I shouldn’t worry about you or think of others. The time that it should be all about me is when it comes to sin in my life.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 18 about two men. One was a Pharisee and the other a publican. Both went to the temple to pray. When it came to sin, the Pharisee was concerned with others. He boasted, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” But the publican was only thinking of self. He wasn’t concerned with the Pharisee. His prayer was, “God be merciful TO ME a sinner,” speaking of himself as if he were the only sinner in the world.

King David had this same attitude in Psalm 51. Wash me. Cleanse me. Purge me. Restore me. Uphold me. My sin… My transgressions… Create in me… You get the picture. He was a little self- focused, wouldn’t you say? But that is exactly how we should be when there is sin in our lives. Oh, but let’s not end here. King David didn’t. After he confessed his sin before God and a right spirit was restored within him, he continued. “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee,” Psalm 51:13. When we are right before God, our heart’s desire is to teach others. Why? Because we are filled with such love from God’s mercy and forgiveness that we greatly desire for others to experience the same.

Probably the most misquoted verse in all of scripture is Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” But if people would continue reading, they would see that God never commands us to not judge others, only to not be a hypocrite when doing so. (See Matthew 7:5.) After we confess, repent, and let Jesus cleanse the sin from our life, we can then see clearly to help a brother in his sin. For in truth, if we truly love others, we will want to do just that. So maybe it isn’t all about me. It just starts with me!