A Fool’s Focus

“What are some actions a person might do if they were living a selfish life?”

Without missing a beat, one of my middle school students answered, “Jesus! They would do what He did.”

Stunned and confused, I took a few seconds before replying, “Jesus was selfish?”

“Yes, He’s our perfect example of how to live a selfish life. One where you are focused on others.”

The miscommunication was now clear – I had assumed we all knew that “selfish” and “selfless” were different words.

So we rewound, wrote the definitions on the board, and then tried to continue with our Bible study.

That moment from yesterday ties in well with our last look as foolishness – A Fool’s Focus – themselves.

Proverbs 12:15 a “A fool’s way is right in his own eyes…”

Proverbs 30:32, “If you have been foolish by exalting yourself or if you’ve been scheming, put your hand over your mouth.”

When we are living selfish lives, we act like spoiled children who get everything they desire. Calendar events revolve fully around ourselves. We do not budge or bend to the needs of other people around us. Our lives scream ME! ME! ME!

Other than the fact that screaming “LOOK AT ME!” is incredibly obnoxious, why do we want to fight our desire to be selfish?

As a Christian, we are to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. How can we glorify God when we focus only on our own “awesomeness.”

The second Proverbs verse above recommends that if we have been exalting ourselves, we need to put our hand over our mouth. In other words, be quiet – stop talking – immediately. Even if you have to tape your mouth shut, stop exalting yourself over God.

When we exalt ourselves, we not only say that we are better than the people around us, we also imply that we are better than God. How can we grow spiritually or make disciples when our aim in life is misaligned?

As we end our quest to be wise followers of God, not foolish earth-wanderers, let’s take time to examine our motives and actions – are we exalting ourselves or are we exalting Christ? How can we better focus our lives on God so that we can best share His love with others around us?