Researchers are now finding that excessive dependence on social media can lead to narcissism and self-absorption....which can then lead to feelings of depression, inadequacy, loneliness and despair. Perhaps each of us can have too much....."us". In these articles it was interesting to read how some social media users are creating their own "15 minutes of fame"....concerned not with simply connecting with others but more concerned with building up some type of concocted stage on which to impress others. In those cases, surely "self" has gotten a little out of control.
But mainly, I had been impacted more by my own preoccupation with self. Earlier in the week....prior to my sermon, I had struggled through a difficult morning in which I was obsessing and wringing my hands over the direction for my career. Having left Singing River Health System in November 2012, my attention has turned toward trying to figure out "what now?". And that wonderment has, at times, been a bumpy ride. Sometimes I've thought...."am I on the right track?"....."have I made a mistake?"....."what does the future hold?". Natural thoughts....but when these same thought become a pre-occupation, the "self" grows bigger and more unwieldy. And on this Valentine's Day morning, "self" had definitely raised its ugly head. By about 10 a.m. that morning I had had enough and I prayed that God would but the genie (self) back in the bottle......helping me to look outward....as opposed to inward. I picked up my iPhone and called each of the ladies in my congregation and wished them a Happy Valentine's Day. During one phone call I prayed with a member who was struggling with an illness in the family and a number of big decisions in her life. During another call, I found out a member had a relative in the hospital....and being near the hospital I proceeded to meet with that person. And then I remembered that one of our members has a brother who is permanently in a nursing home due to a disability. I swung by Walmart, picked up a Valentine's Card and paid "Don" a visit. I had visited and prayed with Don before and knew that he had good days and bad days....and this was a fairly rough day for him....legs swollen with fluid....along with the regular list of ailments that continually plagued him. His sister (our church member) was with him...and so she was able to help interpret Don's speech which was often garbled due to his condition. I visited....gave him his card....and prayed with him as I usually did. After we prayed, he said something that I didn't quite understand. Turning to his sister....I saw her smiling....and she told me he said "I pray for my pastor (me) every day". In the gentlest, kindest way possible, God had completely chopped me off at the knees. Through His grace, I was able to turn an inward, self-absorbed, pre-occupation with self into an outward concern for others....at least it was a tiny step in that direction on this particular day. An in so doing, I experienced the beautiful irony of encountering some else who had been touched by that same grace and was pouring out their own heart on someone else.
There is no shortage of scripture that warns us about the danger of self. Solomon tried to caution us in Ecclesiastes 2:10. And the Apostle Paul really went out of his way to do so in at least three of his letters - Ephesians 4:22 - 24, Romans 7:6 and Colossians 3:1 - 15. For this sermon, I focused on the passage in Colossians. There are three "biggies" that we learn from this Scripture:
- Dying to the old self and rising with Christ in the new self is a continual process and not a one-time event.
- According to Paul, we are not to refrain from living in the world and our body, "but to live a life of heavenly-inspired thanksgiving and praise here and now, in the body and the world."
- The unhealthy desire to have more and more things for oneself - the pre-occupation with self - is idolatry.
In this passage in Colossians, Paul uses some great imagery that his ancient Greco-Roman audience would have appreciated. The vision of baptism as a "watery grave"....where we're buried (hidden) and then raised from the dead....buried with Christ...and then re-emerging with Christ in the resurrection. And then the "putting on" of the new self....a crisp, white baptismal robe covering the dirty rags (after baptism) that candidates often wore as they entered the baptismal pool.
Even though we, as Christians, die and rise with Christ...taking off our old self and putting on the new self.....at that point of salvation.....we soon realize that making Christ our life (as Paul says) is a lifelong journey. A process. We struggle...but we keep trying.
Below are the sermon notes and audio recording of the sermon:
Sermon Notes from February 17, 2013
Audio Recording of Sermon on February 17, 2013
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