Our society has degenerated
much in this category from what I recall in my younger
years. Don’t get me
wrong. Self-centeredness has always been on open display, but I don’t think it
has been as prevalent as we see today.
How many of us can claim to
be patient drivers? We love it when people tailgate us (had one this morning),
or cut in front of us, or drive too slow. Don’t we just love it? I can hear the
laughter now, but is it coming from over my shoulder, or from me? People in
this area are terrible for tailgating, running the yellow (and even red) light,
and not giving a signal when turning. Most are probably good people, but just a
tad in love with themselves. Basically, no one else matters.
I see litter on homeowners’
yards near the roadway, and immediately know that someone has no respect for
another person’s property. They simply don’t care that someone else must clean
up their mess. Does the world revolve around them? They must think so.
Then there are those who
would raise a colossal stink over the welfare of their pet, but never blink an
eye at the mass murder of innocent children in their mother’s womb.
Speaking of abortion, according
to the statistics, nearly 60,000,000 babies have been murdered in the United
States since 1973. Nearly 1,500,000,000 babies have been murdered worldwide
since 1980. Almost 2,000 have died in this country today, as of this afternoon,
and the day isn’t over. Is there somebody in this picture that may think the
world revolves around them?
Let’s face it. We all have a
tendency to one extent or another to have this attitude under the right
circumstances. Obviously, some have a larger dose of it than others.
I’ve seen the “world revolves
around me” attitude many times in church business meetings, and that’s really
sad. We must remember though, unless we get too critical, that the church is
composed of forgiven sinners who only became saints by the blood of Jesus that
was paid on our behalf. None of us are perfect, no, not while on this earth, in
these earthly bodies. Nevertheless, we need to remember Whose Name we carry.
I wonder if Jesus had
anything to say about this. It just so happens, He did.
“One of them, an expert in
the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:35-40)
How can we, as Christians,
have this attitude that Christ proclaimed if we think the world revolves around
us? We cannot.
I’ve told this before, but
I’ll repeat it. My wife and I have had restaurant servers tell us they dread
Sundays because the church crowd will be there and they (those from the church)
are their most rude and demanding customers, and that’s not all. They (those
from church) leave the most meager tips, if any at all.
Look, none of us are perfect,
and I certainly know I’m not, but this attitude of “the world revolves around
me” is just wrong, and especially when it comes from those of us who claim to
know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. I totally get it that many
people think the world owes them a living and they’re the cream of the crop,
but this should never come from us who are true Christians.
We are going to fail, but we
can learn from our failures and keep getting up and leaning on the only one who
can make us what we should be. Guess who that is? That’s right. It is Jesus
Christ. We can lean on Him through His Spirit who resides within us, and allow
Him to help us to grow by taking our eyes off ourselves and loving “the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,”
and loving “your neighbor as yourself.”
There are thousands of
opportunities we can take advantage of in putting others first; i.e. taking our
eyes off ourselves. For example, don’t take the last piece of chicken or piece
of pie, hold the door for someone else to enter first, saying “thank you” or
“excuse me,” not retaliating when you know you have a right to do so, allow
someone else the limelight instead of taking deserved credit, not arguing over
the color of the carpet at the church business meeting, not tailgating a slower
driver, respecting others’ property, letting someone else have the closer
parking spot, and the list could go on a thousand more times.
In passing, I would like to
make clear that I do not believe Jesus ever intended for us to be a doormat. He
expects us to stand up for ourselves, but in a respectful and truly Christian
manner.
“Be ye angry, and sin not:
let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.”
(Ephesians 4:26-27)
He expects us to remember
that the sun does not rise because of us. The world does not revolve around us.
All the glory is His, not ours. He is the one most important in our lives, not
us, but when we put Him first we will not be disappointed. In His time, He will
reward those who glorify Him, by not just what they say, but by what they do.
The world does revolve around Him.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
