Self-absorbed? Not me!
"Living a self-absorbed life will always be at the cost of someone else" (Dr. Timothy Keller).
We don't like to think we are in the category of the "self-absorbed" however, it lurks in the nooks and crannies of our every day experiences. Consider these…
- We are self-absorbed when we gossip (because gossip indulges our need to build ourselves up by cutting others down…even if we pretend that it's for "so-and-so's" own good that we are sharing this juicy morsel).
- We are self-absorbed when we are lazy (because laziness limits our ability to love others completely).
- We are self-absorbed when we speed (because speeding puts the lives of those driving around us at risk).
- We are self-absorbed when we are unkind to our spouses (because unkindness towards anyone we live with is not just detrimental to THAT PERSON but it's just plain foolishness to systematically disrupt your own dwelling place).
- We are self-absorbed when we linger too long on social media (because too much social media steals precious time from more noble endeavors).
Need I go on?
In fact, I just wrote this post because three of the above five examples were true of me in the first hour of my day!
And tomorrow morning I will be five out of five unless I run first thing to my Bible and beg God for the Holy Spirit's supernatural intervention into the sinful regions of my heart. Because it's only with HIS help and my surrender that I stand a chance against self-absorbency.
It's refreshing to experience the freedom of self-forgetfulness (another Dr. Timothy Keller quote). Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. And don't forget: He's always faithful to help when the desires of your heart line up with his.