Dying to Self ~ Part 1

I’ve been dwelling a lot in the past few days on the concept of dying to self (thanks to my own sin and reading Passionate Housewives Desperate for God ~ read it… it’s great!) “Dying to self” is the arch enemy of self-centeredness, and is, in essence, the same as selflessness. Why is it, then, that it holds such a powerful kick in the pants for me? What’s the difference? I don’t know.

Though I get the meaning of the phrase, “dying to self”, it has opened my eyes to really look at what it means to me personally. I have found life application in that little phrase that I never would have put on it before.

Allow me to digress a bit, and to jump up on a quick soap box (one, by the way, that nails me to the wall of hypocrisy!) Self-centeredness… not one of us doesn’t struggle with it to some extent, because, as I see it, self-centeredness is at the root of every sin. Eve ate the apple because she was thinking only of herself! People tell lies for self preservation. People steal because they are coveting something they want for themselves. People kill, people lust, people have affairs, all the sins I can think of… all because of self. Children fight over toys because they selfishly desire that toy for themselves. Wives leave their husbands because they cannot imagine living one more day in that unhappy marriage… selfishness. Babies tantrum because they didn’t get what they want.

From the first sin until now, we live lives that revolve around self! Self help books, me time, people who say “God just wants me to be happy.” Since when is this life all about me? I’ll tell you… it’s not! It’s not about me, it’s not about you! God did not create this world for us. God didn’t create me for me. He created me for himself. This world, and everything and everyone in it, is for Him. It’s not all about me, it’s all about Him! The murderer, the thief, the adulterer, the fighting children, the woman who makes the choice to leave her husband… each says, like Eve, “it’s not all about God, I want this life to be all about me.”

Just imagine how different this world would be if each of us put away self-centeredness and began dying to self on a day by day, minute by minute basis. Marriages would be in tact, children wouldn’t be neglected, and crime would be at an all time low.

These things are the obvious (to me anyway) ways to apply this concept of dying to self. Jesus says, “If you love me, obey my commands.” (John 14:15) To die to self and live for Him, means to obey his Scriptures. But as I’ve looked deeper into what dying to self really means in my life, I’ve been amazed to find more.

To be continued…

Labels: Life Lessons for Mommy, Reflections

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 8:00 AM