132: Everything Is Not About You
Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today we are going to talk about how we are not the center of the universe. Not everything that happens is about us!
Have you watched the music video, "It's not all about you" (https://youtu.be/-BstMcit8VQ) by Gracie Lawrence. I found it delightful, not simply because the music was good and it was so well made, but because it stated a very important life truth: everything is not all about us.
It's easy to make it all about us because we are so focused on ourselves. From the moment we begin our day (what do I want to eat for breakfast?) to the time we end it (what should I do before I sleep?), we are concerned with our wants and needs. This is natural, but it can become our main preoccupation. However, we are not the center of the universe, and coming to terms with this — and dealing with it — will make our lives better.
How so? Well, it will make us less paranoid, for one. When people whisper in our presence, it's not us they are necessarily talking about, so we can chill! We can also shrug away some of the nasty things that people say or do as inconsequential and find it easier to forgive when we deflate our egos.
Looking outward helps us see the struggles people are going through. Our struggles, which dominate our thoughts when we are self-centered, pale in comparison. Attend one of our live sessions in the House of Prayer (https://bit.ly/hsihouseofprayer), where we lift hundreds of petitions of people in severe pain and difficulties, and you will know what I mean. Consequently, it will make us kinder, sympathetic, and more caring.
Not making it all about us will make us less obnoxious as well. Haven't you met people who bore you half to death because they can't speak a sentence without the word "I" in it? We can be equally boring to others if all we do is talk about ourselves! Watch that video I referenced; it demonstrates this beautifully.
Jesus, of course, is very clear about what he thinks about the subject. When his apostles were squabbling about who was the greatest among them, he quickly cut them down to size. "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant," he said (Mark 10:43). That fixed it for them. It should fix it for us too.
May the Spirit be with you.