Get Your Mind Off Yourself

“A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor’s.”

—RICHARD WHATELY

And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross.

—Mark 8:34

Someone with a selfish, self-centered lifestyle is usually also very complex and convoluted. God never intended us to look only inward, only trying to take care of ourselves. He wants us to reach out to others and trust Him to take care of us. The Bible says Jesus trusted Himself and everything to His heavenly Father because He knew He would judge fairly (see 1 Peter 2:23), and we should follow His example.

The entire goal of a Christian should be to follow Jesus. After we make this commitment, Jesus said we would need to lose sight of ourselves including all of our own interests (see Mark 8:34). Many times we think if we turn everything over like He asks, we will never enjoy life or have anything we want, but just the opposite is true. When we give our lives away to others, God gives us a life beyond anything we could ever provide for ourselves. I highly recommend you retire from self-care and let God be God in your life and allow Him to care for you.

I am not saying you should not take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, because you should. I am saying to stop worrying about yourself and how you can get all the things you want out of life. Get yourself off your mind because the more you think about yourself, the more miserable you will be.

Everything in our carnal or human nature is for self-preservation, but thank God, when anyone receives Christ as their Savior and Lord, they receive a new nature (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). That new nature gives us the ability to be selfless—to put others first before ourselves. We must learn a new way of living once we are “in Christ.” We enter into relationship with Him through an act of faith—the action we take when we ask Him to be Lord of our life, but we then must learn to live with an attitude of faith—the mental position we must hold on to that says, It’s no longer about me. Deposit yourself with God and embark on a life worth living. Worrying about yourself and always trying to make sure you are taken care of is complicated, but trusting that God will care for you as you care for others is simple.

Refuse to be fearful about what will happen to you. God is faithful and He will take care of you if you trust Him.