it isn't all about ME!

as i was watching tv aimlessly, and with my mind half floating to the other end of the universe, this line came to me. IT'S ISN'T ALL ABOUT ME! i was simply thinking about a whole mirage of things when it dawned upon me... men (referring to both men and women) are selfish creatures. as i looked around me, everyone is so concerned with themselves. why do we have the tendency to expect the whole world to revolve around I, ME, MINE and MYSELF?

how do I look? what do I get? why should I do this? why can't I do that? how can I take advantage of others? how can I excel beyond others? why must others be better off than ME? why can't I get what I want? why must I be the one to suffer? why can't I be richer/smarter/more popular/more fortunate/prettier/more handsome/happier?

why are we so self-obsessed? many times, i find myself in this situation as well. not happy with how things are now, i often question why things happen to me. but on hindsight, i find myself so narrow-minded. such behaviour and attitude just makes us more spoilt, ignoring the world around us and ending up fighting for our rights at the expense of others. is this what life is all about? is life all about what i do, what happens to me, how can i benefit from everything and why should i do this? if that's the case, then i think we are all in the wrong place.

God make this world with all the people around us. if He wanted us to focus on ourselves, then wouldn't He have made everyone stay on an island of our own? have we been making wishes and prayers of success for ourselves? that we would be blessed in whatever we are doing? that our life would be made better with the realisation of all our wishes? but does it sound remotely logical if God answers all our prayers according to what we want? then doesn't that make God just a genie in a lamp? that we might just rub the lamp and ask Him out whenever we need His help? and when we are happy with our own lives, we just leave him in the lamp? hey! that doesn't sound very right.. He made this world. He has the power to give (and also to take back). whatever we have, it's not ours. we are just guests in this world He created. whatever we have are just gifts from Him. because the very reason that we are living on this earth is that He gave us life to live and air to breathe. so why are we so concerned about getting the best out of everything for ourselves?

this dawned upon me when i was thinking about prayer requests. when we ask others if there is anything we can pray for them about, or even asking others if there is anything we can help with, it always comes back to themselves. perhaps they have a genuine need which has to be met. but more often than not, we start thinking of ourselves first. in this period of time, i have been receiving messages from people who are request prayers for their exams. i understand that it is an important time in their semester, especially for those who are particularly weak in certain subjects. however, have we stopped to think about others? what about praying for those who are sick around us? and those who are going through suffering, hardships and trials? how about those who are still in darkness and are living aimless lives? could they be more important than what we are going through?

in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, i learnt a few things. He came to this earth for us. He went through the pain and suffering for us. He died on the cross for us. and even now when He has returned to glory, He is still interceding for us. everything He has done was for us, because He loved us. so why can't we take that example and live as He would? a life to bless others. a life to serve others. a life to give for others. following the greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind", is the next commandment that beseeches us to "Love your neighbour as yourself". (matthew 22:37-38)

although whatever we do hinges on what God has called us to do, let us take on the attitude of a servant. to learn to serve those around us. to help those in trouble. to give to those in need. to bless those who are suffering. to love those who are lost.

and i am leaving everyone with this verse... "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10)