Have you noticed the cultural norm of, “it’s all about me” that pervades every single aspect of our lives? And how often do you see the attitude of entitlement in children and adults all over the place?
Do you ever feel yourself falling into that way of thinking and feeling about yourself?
I know I do.
And it is hard to find my way back out if I don’t stop it immediately.
When I start to hear the selfish, “it’s all about me” voice playing in my head there are a few things that are my “go-to” ways to fight that voice.
- Send texts to a few people I know who may need a word of encouragement.
- Write a note and drop it in the mail to a friend.
- Work on a knit or crochet project for someone who is having a particularly rough time and pray over them as I work.
- Go for a walk or play outside with my kids.
- Sit on the couch next to my husband and watch something on TV that he wants to watch (even when I can’t stand it.)
- Sit down with my journal and write out the things and people who I am thankful for and why.
It is not an easy thing to think about others when our world bombards us with the ideas that we should have what we want, that other people should make us happy, and that we should get our way in life. But we have to fight against that with everything we have within us if we truly want to be the people we have been created to be: people who love others above self. In order to fight those feelings of selfishness, we have to find ways to counteract them when they arise.
These are just a few of the things that I do to fight the selfishness within me, and I have to be very intentional to do so. It is so much easier to want what I want when I want it. But more than anything I want to be like Christ and put others before myself.
How about you? How do you fight your selfish urges?