It's Not About Me

I have not blogged before and I may never again. We will see how this goes...
I have finished the book and feel very challenged to live a life that is not all about myself. I don't think we realize (or I didn't) how many decisions I make or responses I have a day that are motivated by the very thought that IT IS about me even when I don't realize it!
I have been studying Gideon and unbelievably this concept keeps coming up in that story as I read and study. Gideon was very motivated by this kind of thinking when he was being called: He had no recall of what God had already done for him but rather wanted to know where He had been and where were the wonders? (Judges 6:13) It is also easy to find Gideon after his victory becoming a snare to himself (Judges 8:27). His sudden rise to fame caused him to see himself as something more than he was where initially he saw himself as something less. Both mindsets were focused on himself and what he was capable of on his own without factoring in God. Really the time we see him completely dependent and focused on God is in the heat of battle. Gideon is his most faithful and his least focused on himself when he is called into a battle (and responds) with little chance of victory. When he could never have been successful on his own, we see him worshipping (Judges 7:15) and transforming (Judges 7:17).
I am led to consider how often this is the case for me. For a variety of reasons I find myself not factoring in God. When I am only thinking of myself or my needs there is no room for God to work...to transform. He can only accomplish that when we are in complete submission to Him. When we find ourselves going about the business and work of the Father and not our own, He is faithful to bless our work and to transform us into His likeness making us look like so much more than we could ever be on our own. But then we must be careful not to think that we had something to do with that as well; that we were actually the change agent and all the credit or glory goes to us. That thinking is dangerous, a snare if you will. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" I Cor 10:12 NIV. "It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:32 NIV.
If I asked myself more, "If this really wasn't about me...." how would that impact the way I respond to my spouse, the way I parent, the attitude I have at work every day? If I asked myself this in the body, how would I respond differently to those who have a different view point than I do or don't always treat me the way I want to be treated? Can people watch me, look at my life, and get an idea of what my Father is like? I have to confess that most of the time I am completely motivated by my own selfish desires and thinking. Thinking of myself is what occurs naturally and doing something different requires sacrifice, perhaps suffering, and always a mirror that I should not turn away from.
I pray that as we press forward in this study, God will lead us into a way of thinking about Him and others in a way that we never have before. I know that when we lay ourselves aside God is faithful to work.
"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 1:6 NIV