Thoughts from Tim Keller’s “Blessed self-forgetfulness:”
Pride is empty, painful, busy, and fragile. This “animal” festers inside of me. It’s the natural condition of my human ego. I want so badly to protect it, to guard it, just in case someone or something pops it. It is a daily battle for me to know that I don’t have to be essentially competitive in order to be more than the next person.
I want to badly to please people, to have them enjoy my company. I don’t take stock in the fact that I am a child of God, but instead I often find myself looking for identity in being the best at what I do. In the end I won’t be judged by these people I am pleasing or competing with, I won’t be judged by myself either, but only by God. Why don’t I care about what He thinks?
Madonna said, “My drive in life is the fear of being mediocre. My ego is insatiable, and cannot be satisfied.” Sometimes I think Madonna knows herself more than most of the world. Why can’t we all stop thinking of ourselves for second? Why can’t we serve others and not be so selfish. Why can’t we be humble?
Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.
