You’re Full of It

God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.
-D.L. Moody

If you say you have no trouble with pride, then you’ve probably got a terminal case of the stuff. It’s a sin we’re all battling to some extent, but for some, it’s more than an occasional problem.

So how can you tell if you’re full of yourself? You might try asking yourself these questions, answering as honestly as you’re able:

1. Do the people closest to you tell you that your words or actions show an unusual amount of selfishness?
2. Even though you resist temptations towards behaviors you know are forbidden, do you resent having to resist them, as though God is unfairly taking away your toys?
3. Do you still envy other people who indulge in the things God called you to reject?
4. Do you expect applause for doing what’s necessary, then pout when you don’t get it?
5. Do you think the rules others live by don’t, or at least shouldn’t, apply to you?

If those questions paint a picture of you, then yeah, you’ve got a problem. Because that indicates your way of thinking, and not just your behavior, needs retraining. The greatest of all is, as Jesus said, the Servant of all, who puts others needs before his own. And we may as well admit that servant-hood is far from
our natural tendency.

This is especially true of people who’ve been in the habit of indulging themselves however they please. You could say, in fact, that indulgence can become a primary language – the language that’s been spoken and practiced for years; even a lifetime. Your primary language is the one you grew up speaking, which now comes fluently and naturally to you.

But you also are capable of learning a second language. The more you practice it, the more fluently it comes. You immerse yourself in it, surrounding yourself with others who speak it, and it comes even more quickly and automatically to you. Each time you speak it, you reinforce it.

So even if indulgence is a primary language, you can always learn and speak a second one: servanthood.  Every time you resist putting your needs above another’s, every time you consider the effect of your actions on others more than the release or pleasure it may give you, every time you think “What will help?” instead of “What do I want?”, then you’re getting your Servant on by speaking your second language. The more you practice it, the more fluently it comes, and the more each act of service shapes your thinking.

All of which goes against our rebel nature. But denying ourselves, learning the second language of servanthood, and remembering not only who we are but Whose we are, is not only the right thing to do. It’s also, in the long run, the smartest thing to do, because the entitled mindset never works. It yields a bitter, rancid fruit, and, worse yet, it leads to the madness of unbridled, blind selfishness.

I’d hate the idea of somebody saying “Joe is so full of himself!” I like the idea of someone saying “Joe is so full of Him!”

Then again, if anyone ever says that and I hear it, then we’ll be back right back to Square One. Oh well.