The Little Narcissist Within
Matthew 16:24,25 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life.
Have you noticed how divided our society is becoming? Just in these last few years, the temperature of conflict has definitely gone up. Everyone arguing, criticising, disagreeing. What’s going on?
These days, particularly in the affluent west, we’ve become so self-sufficient, that narcissism has almost become the norm. Over the last half a century, which is most of my lifetime, we’ve seen people switching en masse from looking after one another, to looking after themselves.
And that’s had some devastating consequences – marriages falling apart, children heading off the rails, communities tearing themselves apart.
A narcissist is someone who has an excessive interest in themselves. Psychologists will tell you that it’s characterised by extreme selfishness. The narcissist has this grandiose view of their own talents and a craving for admiration. And before you and I go pointing the finger at other people, it’s worth taking a look in the mirror, and asking ourselves, “is there a little narcissist inside me?” Well, is there?
Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life.
The opposite of the narcissist is the person with a servant heart. The one who’s more interested in helping others than themselves. So, just quietly then, let me ask you, who would you rather be? The narcissist, or the servant?
If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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Jeff
Am blessed with today’s morning devotion .Lusaka Zambia
Am blessed with today’s morning devotion .Lusaka Zambia