Truth My Kids Will Know - Life Is Not A Selfie

 Lie # 10 - "Do what makes YOU happy!"

The front-facing camera was originally invented in the early 2000's to use in video conversations. At first, it was marketed to high-ranking business people as a way to make conference calls. But that's not really how it worked out. Even though almost every cell phone has had a forward camera, video calls didn't really take off in the general public until recently. Between the time they were introduced and the time they began to be used as intended...what were these devices doing?

Taking selfies!

Think about it, in the days before Facetime was common, why did every phone come with a camera facing the user? Obviously, selfies were around before the front camera, but it was more of an art back then. It took skill to be aware of the camera's location and aim it just right. I'm sure a lot of us remember the constant re-takes because the camera wasn't aimed right, or it was out of focus, or because you were making the wrong face. But once the forward camera came around, users were able to see themselves as they took the picture - making it much easier.

Now, don't get me wrong; I don't think there's anything wrong with taking selfies. But what I AM opposed to is the mindset that life is like a selfie.

In other words, it's the mindset that says "Nothing really matters unless I'm in the picture."

Of course we want to be in actual pictures, so we can remember that we were there. But when this idea is applied to life in general, it starts to cause a problem.

Why? Because your life should NOT be about you!

Selfishness Destroys Lives

We have all experienced the pain that's caused when someone else acts selfishly:

• When a toddler snatches away his friend's toy.
• When school kids gather together into closed groups, leaving anyone that is different out on their own.
• When someone stabs a co-worker in the back to get ahead in their career.
• When immature dads spend all their free time on a hobby.
• When moms walk out on their family to go "find themselves."
• Or basically any other decision that follows the question, "What about me?"

Selfishness always hurts other people...sometimes to the point of devastation. 

The saddest part about selfishness, though, is the deception that comes with it. It's easy to see selfishness in others, but almost impossible to see it in ourselves - and that's where it causes the most damage. There is nothing more heartbreaking than watching two self-centered (but completely deceived) friends pointing at each other and saying, "You're so selfish!"

So selfishness will always hurt other people, and sometimes may even ruin their lives.

But here's a little-known secret: Your selfishness will always destroy your own life. If you don't catch it and put a stop to it; your own self-interest will ruin everything.

A Life That Matters

 Philippians 2:4 - "Let each of you look out, not only for his own interests, but also the interests of others."

Do you want your life to count? Do you want people to remember you when you're no longer in the picture? Do you want to be important? Then there's only one option: you must give your life away.

Who do you have the best memories of?

 - Is it a parent that sacrificed to give you a good life?

 - Is it a friend that stood beside you in a painful situation and helped you heal?

 - Is it a mentor that would always help you out, even if it was an inconvenience to them?

Of course these are the kinds of people we want in our own lives...But are we willing to be that person for someone else? Are we willing to lay our lives down for someone else's benefit? 

Laying your life down doesn't just mean dying for someone - that's a relatively-easy, one-time decision. No, this also includes laying down what you want for someone else. It means exchanging what's good for you with what's good for them. More than just dying for someone; laying down yourself describes the process of living for them.

If you want your life to count, then you have to understand this: you're not the one that's counting!
Lives that count are willing to be inconvenienced for someone else.

Lives that count are laid down to help others.

Lives that count are never found alone - they're found raising other lives up.

You can see this most clearly looking at the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Look at the price He paid in Philippians 2:5-8.
"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross."

He did that for you. He sacrificed His life in Heaven, where He was worshiped by angels, and came here to become a nobody. No...it was actually worse that that. He was ignored, then rejected, and then treated as a common criminal and murdered. All so that you could be made righteous. And He never once pursued a single self-interest. Do you think HIS life made a difference?

Now look at the reward for this life of self-sacrifice, described in Philippians 2:9-11
"Therefore God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Remember this:

The reward for a selfish life is to die and be forgotten.

But God honors those who selflessly give themselves away, offering them eternal rewards.

So when the world tells my kids to "Do what makes YOU happy" - my kids will respond with the truth: "I will live my life to make a difference for others!"