“In an ego-centered culture, wants become needs, the self replaces the soul, and human life degenerates into the clamor of competing autobiographies." Cornelius Plantinga
this quote strikes me so much because i feel like in our society--in my generation--we're always trying to one-up somebody. you had to be busier than all of your busy friends...whatever you did for the holidays or the weekend has to be cool and unique. and what would be so great about all the labels and brand named items if no one cared to notice?
when i go on facebook...i see this magnified. sometimes i see it in statuses, wall posts, pictures, etc. i am probably guilty as well in both sides where i might subtly asked to be recognized or i might praise somebody for what they decided to showcase. facebook is a constant need for approval. and i see this even more so with some of the cmu people ever since the "like" function came to be. it blows trivial things to disproportionate significance. you had to be the first one to mention that you saw that cool movie at midnight. you have to show who you're drinking with on a saturday night. you have to show what expensive gift your boyfriend got you for your 4 month anniversary. i am not targeting any one person but i am just tired of thinking "oh i wasn't part of that, why wasn't i?" or "i can never look like that". facebook, i guess could edify and spiritually encourage people in certain cases, but for the most part, there's not much glory going to God through facebook. and i am contemplating deactivating my facebook again..
i am one of the biggest people-pleasers--a euphemism for a pushover. i rarely state my opinion and simply agree with what somebody else has to say. therefore, i find myself struggling with finding out why i care so much about pleasing people. am i doing this to follow the example of Christ? or do i have some unrighteous motivation to appear righteous? how do i get to the root of this? i guess i haven't figured out who i am yet since i have no idea why i do what i do. ha! oh this is silly. it is cause i have ADD and can never sit down and just meditate and think about things, like i used to.
my mind is all flustered and i have so much to say but again my ADD has hindered me from being an efficient writer. POINT IS: if the desire to be accepted by people is greater than the desire to please God, it is sinful. don't let what other people think control what you can do for the kingdom. Jesus said "my God my God, why have you forsaken me"....Jesus, the son of God, embodied all our sins on the cross and endured the disapproval of God so that we could have the eternal approval of God we don't deserve.
