Where do you put your 'self'?

What happens when you always put your "self" first? It is like plopping the word down right smack dap in front of your world: self-righteous, self-justified, self-centered, self-focused, self-deception, self-absorbed, self-deceit, self-devotion, self-gratification, self-importance, self-interest, self-love, self-pity and selfish.

Where we place our focus, we put down roots. It is how we prioritize and think; it is where we spend our time and expend our energy.

How we perceive the universe is a product of how we position ourselves compared to others. Righteous is a good thing. Being so would be a worthy goal for everyone. Doing right brings both human and divine approbation. However, self-righteous is a poor imposter of the real McCoy. It may seem otherwise to the practitioner of that art form of behavior, but the accent is on the wrong syllable. The word goes from nobility to ignobility in the blink of an eye or is it “I”?

Love and self-love are another example. Love makes the world go round. Self-love stops it dead in its tracks. Self-lovers aren’t much help because their arms are too busy hugging and patting themselves. Self-centeredness and self-worship are examples of a religious congregation of self-devotion. Their hallelujahs of self-praise fill empty sanctuaries. However, the self-justified are more than happy to preach to others. Self-adoration is part of this cult of self, occupying a full-time job without benefits. Self-focus shows in our language. The “I, me and mine” soliloquy may be long, but it makes for a very short conversation. It produces a longwinded sermon pontificated to a chapel filled with the mass of one.

One should be absorbed in the wonders of the universe. It starts with a sincere chat. We grow from being engaged with others, then we expand by discovering the miracle of life and nature. Doing so illustrates a curious mind and an active pursuit of knowledge. Being self-absorbed, on the other hand, narrows the field of vision like myopia. Everything beyond the tip of the person’s own nose is blurry.

On the other hand, to be aware and then to be self-aware only heightens a person’s quality of insight. The difference between being self-aware and self-absorbed is illustrated in the selection process the Lord worked out for Gideon and his small army. Those soldiers who put their faces into the water to lap the water were drummed out of the corp. They were more worried about their own thirst than the safety of their fellow soldiers. Meanwhile, those who were aware and were continuously on alert scooped up the water to their mouths while still scouting for the enemy.