Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Self Importance - The Deadliest Disease

When I was a senior in high school I suffered an emotional episode that caught me by surprise. I had been cast in the ensemble of the spring musical, Irene, and we were rehearsing one of the dance numbers (yes, I had a brief dalliance as a dancer). It was a simple number but I just couldn't get the step. It was so frustrating. At one point I lost it and ran offstage sobbing and literally hanging on the curtain. My dance partner, Ginger Rogers (I am seriously not making this up), came over to console me but I think she was a little surprised that I was having such a strong reaction. In that moment I believed the success of the whole production hinged on whether or not I could learn that dance step!

It wasn't the dance move that had gotten to me. It was my own sense of importance. Somehow I had convinced myself that I was indispensable. Without me doing everything exactly right the show couldn't go on. I collapsed under the weight of my own self importance.

Far too often our charitable work suffers from this same affliction. We take ourselves so seriously and over time come to believe that without us people will die. In so many ways this conviction becomes reality because our behavior makes this true. By not allowing people to find their own way and encouraging them to fully realize their potential we keep them in a state of infancy. And we all know that without the constant care of a parent an infant would die. The harsh reality is this; what is killing more people around the world today is the arrogant self importance of those running charities purporting to be helping.

Scripture cautions us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3) but with sober judgement think of ourselves in accordance with the faith God has given us. This was a hard lesson for me to learn. I think it is for most people. I worked with a pastor for a time who gave me a simple phrase that really helped. He said, 'Take God very seriously and have fun with the ministry.'

God has blessed every human being on the planet with gifts and talents. He has built us to be in communities that care for each other. He has a plan and a purpose the He is working out and He's the only one with the resources to make His plan a reality. Yes, we have a role to play, but many are guilty of over-inflating the importance of their particular role. We cannot simultaneously take ourselves so seriously that we think it's up to us to save the world (or whatever part of it we're working in) and take God seriously. Part of the process of undoing the effects of benevolent oppression is to stop thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. We must get over ourselves, take God very seriously and have fun with (enjoy) the ministry.

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