Me Centered?
My definition of me-centered is when I think someone must serve my best interest according to my thinking as to what that would be. Otherwise, they are of no use to me.
Today, it seems popular to speak of easily kicking someone to the curb based on whether or not they serve one’s own best self-interest.
Being self-centered can be dangerous, as it can lead to deception and turn important things upside down.
Having a dominant “what’s in it for me” attitude is not the best thing. Choosing people as friends based only on what they can do to promote me is not healthy.
Sadly, many have approached Christ from this basis of thinking. They approach Him based on what they think He will do for them, never even considering what He might ask of them.
When it is only about what I want, it distorts the truth and creates discontent. If a person with that type of thinking and attitude does not get what they want the way they want it, and when they want it, they behave like a child throwing a temper tantrum due to not getting whatever it was they desired. That kind of attitude can set a person up for a rebellious state of mind and practice. It stirs up contentions, fighting, and wars. The Scriptures clearly show us that this is true.
James 4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
When James says war in your members, he is speaking about the natural tendencies of the flesh. Self-centeredness has never served anyone well. It has always been a path to disappointment and complaint. Demanding to be spoiled with everything desired in this life generally does not bring anyone satisfaction to the level they seek. This is why it says,
James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
There’s an advantage to being submitted and surrendered to Jesus, Who is greater and wiser and Who loves me deeply. Being submitted and surrendered to the point that His desires for me are more important to me than my own desires is a blessing. He sees my end from the beginning and can help me navigate my way through the most trying times as I seek to stay in step with Him. I may not get to see everything I had hopes to be answered and accomplished the way I wish, but if I know Him well and trust His character and desire Him for who He is more than for what He does for me, I will never be disappointed due to a selfish attitude and thinking He exists for my purposes as opposed to the other way around.
Those who truly love the truth always end up with Jesus and are content to know Him for who He is. Me-centeredness will always be a snare, but Christ-centeredness is a prospering way of life. The more I get to know Him for who He is, the more I esteem Him as Lord, and the more I find, the happier I am in my soul and my mind. I am loved with everlasting love, not because it is all about me and my getting my way. I am loved because of how wonderful and great He is. His loving me is far more about His goodness and greatness than it is about me. I find my value and worth in His love for me, no doubt. However, it does not produce a self-centeredness in me to know this. Instead, it makes me even more aware of just how wonderful Jesus truly is.
