I have to admit I have found myself writing about myself a whole lot. And I’ve been put off writing because of it. Not only that – I’ve been so frustrated reading other people’s writing that is all just one long public self-obsessed confession. We are all guilty of it. How many selfies are posted each second on Instagram and Snapchat? How many half-baked opinions lie strewn through Twitter and Facebook timelines? All of them pointing directly at one thing – yourself.

I think it’s time we change this pattern. Focussing on yourself can not only be annoying and arrogant, but it can also be extremely destructive. Comparison only takes place if you are considering yourself. Insecurity is an unhealthy obsession with your flaws. Identity crises only happen when you focus too much on who you are. It’s time to look beyond your own feelings and situation. Focussing on others is the key to getting out of the prison you have created.

These days the world is becoming overwhelmingly competitive. There is a mindset that there is only one place ‘at the top’ (wherever that is) and that the only way you will be happy is if your voice is the loudest. It may seem far more subtle, but let’s be honest – there is a vicious civil war raging for attention online – not to mention in real life. It is almost as if we are stuck in a time warp – where someone pressed pause during the immature Junior High stage of life, but everyone is aging and more stressed than ever. No – this is not how life has always been. As terrible as the World Wars were, they did bring a sense of reality to life and a simplicity to appreciating it.

So let’s not get so caught up in ourselves. Let’s not get tangled in this frenzy of self-promotion and self-degradation. God has more for us. In the Bible, Paul wrote a letter to the Roman church that was struggling with self-obsession. Here’s how he put it:

Obsession with self in these matters is a dead-end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. 
It’s like the analogy of the person who has lost control of their bicycle as they are pelting down a hill. They see a tree up ahead and start freaking out about not hitting it, but the more they focus on it, the more likely they are to hit it. If we keep on focussing on ourselves, there is no favorable direction forward. Could you ever be more ‘yourself‘? There are definitely many ways you can improve, but being obsessed with that results in an endless cycle of achievement and insecurity. Focussing outwards is the only true way forwards – focussing on God will lead to you focus on others and forget about the multiple details of your own imperfections.
Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what He is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.
Jesus literally died the most brutal death imaginable to get your attention – to help you take your judgmental eyes off of yourself and find relief in the grace He bled for.
“But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells – even though you still experience all the limitations of sin – you yourself experience life on God’s terms.” – Romans 8:6-16 (MSG)
One of the most alarming things I have seen among Christians recently is their preoccupation with their own voices. Instagram might be a great place to confess your problems, but how are we different to anyone else then? If you search #others it is alarming how many of the posts are actually selfies. For real, people – there is a world out there crying for attention and we can use our voices to celebrate others without having to even mention yourself in your posts. Life on God’s terms is way bigger than any one person. Yes, there is victory for yourself – but God’s plan for you is so much more than just for you to be happy. It’s for you to be part of the greatest story life will ever know – to experience the wonder and glory of God and witness it transform not only yourself, but the world around you.
If you are tired of yourself, if you are sick of the pressure to be better than everyone else, can I encourage you to turn your attention to God? Click on the link below to find out more.