I really like thinking about how great of a guy I am. I know that sounds bad, but regrettably, it’s true.

I’m a genius when it comes to knowledge on the subject of me. I’m literally obsessed with myself. Not a day goes by when I don’t think, “What could make me happier right now?” or “what do I want to do?” And if you were honest, you’d probably say the same thing about yourself. Am I right?

Self-obsession has always been a human problem, but recently I think we’ve taken it to new levels by championing it to the highest levels within our very existence. Ask any kid what they want to be when they grow up and this is what they’ll most likely tell you: a rock star, an actor, a fashion designer, or a superstar athlete. Ask the same question to a kid 20 years ago, and you’d get a very different answer with a very different mindset: a fireman, a mom, a police officer, or an army soldier. Yesteryear used to be about giving of yourself to better society around you. Now it’s about how to achieve the most success and get the most money to live in a big house with fancy cars and cool clothes. I know I’m probably sounding a bit like a crotchety old man here, complaining about the present and longing for the past, but more and more I’m seeing what a “me-centered” society is doing to our thought process and belief system.

Of course culture is going to continue to get worse. This doesn’t shock me at all. What does bother me, however, is when we allow the tainted teaching of the culture around us to shape our views of the church, the body of believers within it, and God Himself.

Let me let you in on a not-so-big secret from the bible: it’s not about you—it’s about Jesus Christ!

People like Dr. Phil, the women on The View, Tony Robbins and Joel Osteen want you to believe that if you work hard enough to become a better you and believe that the capability is inside of you to achieve the greatness that you deserve, you will aspire to great things. The only small, little, tiny problem is this: you’re simply not capable of being better in your own power. Whoops...kind of changes everything, doesn’t it?

No matter how hard I try, I have never ever been able to make my sinful nature improve by trying harder to become a better me. Every seven-step program that I have implemented into my daily routine has failed miserably. All the sincere promises I have made to myself and to God to try harder and do better the next time have come up wanting in the end. In my own power, I am a loser ten times out of ten. Why? Because I can’t do it on my own! I need Jesus!

And so do you.

It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling when someone tells you that you are capable of achieving prominence. But to what end does that desire for prominence produce? Most often, the motivator to improve ourselves is solely for the glory of us. See, when you peel back the warm and fuzzy layers of self-esteem, there is a dark and disgusting idol that rests in the center of the shiny exterior—pride.

Nobody today likes to admit that they need help. We all fantasize about sitting in the chair opposite of Oprah Winfrey while being applauded by the studio audience for pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and making it on our own (well, at least I fantasize about that).

“Nobody helped me on my way to the top.”
“I did it all by myself.”
“I worked hard and I achieved my goals.”
“I believed in my heart that I could do it and I did.”

These are the kind of statements the culture admires and praises as something worth taking note of remembering. These are the phrases that make people tear up and silently proclaim, “good for them”. And unfortunately, this is the prevailing mentality that has oozed its way into the church, bringing with it the destructive arrogance that has been the downfall of humanity time and time again. In Genesis 11, all the people at the Tower of Babel thought very highly of themselves and consequently, the Lord intervened to help them understand where their rightful place was in terms of importance.

Understand what I’m saying here and what I’m not. I’m not saying that you are worthless garbage. I’m not saying that you aren’t valuable and special either. You are very important to God…if you weren’t, do you think He would have sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you? You have incredible worth because of what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.

The problem begins to take shape, however, when we get cocky and think that all of life is about us and what we can do to make a name for ourselves. God is very clear about the fact that He will not share His glory. He is jealous for it and when we try to steal His glory for ourselves, it is sin…even if masked by the perpetual back-patting happiness of self-esteem motivators.

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (I Peter 5:5)

A good definition of humility is “knowing your place”. God is God and we are not. The quicker we realize this, the better off we will be, I promise.

Success in life doesn’t come by believing in the capability we have to be better people, it comes by knowing our place and believing that God is the ultimate good power and loving authority over all things…including your life.