All About Me

It’s interesting how one of the first words kids learn is ‘mine’, right? I know I tried not to use that word very often just so my kid’s didn’t learn it (they learned it anyway). And though I believe possession and ownership can be a valuable part of this world, I also believe that we need to keep in mind that everything we have ultimately belongs to God. He gave it to us through some means and so we should hold on to it loosely.
But tied to this idea of ownership is how we often think this world is about us. Like, when you’re driving down Highway 24 and you get stuck behind someone on the hills and curves going to Rushville who is ACTUALLY GOING THE SPEED LIMIT, it’s frustrating, right? I saw a post on Facebook that said, “There is 100% chance that I’ve called some of the most wonderful people in the world the most horrible things while in traffic.” So, I know I’m not alone in this.
And it’s not just traffic, we get frustrated about so many things. Little things and big things. We get frustrated by our spouse and our kids and our co-workers and our boss and our neighbors and our dogs and the TV and the snow and our cars and etc, etc, etc. And I’m just as bad as anyone. Often we can brush those frustrations off, once we’ve cooled down or we’ve walked away from it, but I’m convinced there’s an underlying cause to our frustrations.
Matt Chandler says, “If you will track and pay attention to your frustrations and agitations, they are almost always tied to thinking life is about you…I’m telling you, 90 percent of the time, we’ve drifted and bought into the lie that the universe owes us something and this needs to be about us.”
And I know that’s true about me. Every time I get frustrated at my kids in the morning it’s because I don’t want to be late for work. It’s not about getting them to school on time, it’s about my schedule. Or my frustration comes because I might look like a bad parent if they show up late, right? It’s about me. It’s about my schedule.
And that’s the culture we live in. And that’s why what Jesus taught was so incredibly remarkable. In Mark 9.35 he says, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” That’s counterintuitive, right? That goes against what we assume to be true.
But Matt Chandler also says, “…here’s what’s true: the more life is about you, the more miserable and sad you are, and the more your life is not about you, the happier you tend to be.” I pray we make life more about others and find happiness along the way. God bless.