ME

Written by cycleguy on July 31st, 2017

I was all set to add to my thoughts on forgiveness from this post when I had a change of thoughts heart.  I read something that sort of made me think a little too deeply for a Monday morning.  This morning in New Morning Mercies, Paul Tripp wrote this:

Grace not only forgives me, but enables me to live for something hugely bigger than myself. Why go back to my little kingdom of one? {Note: I change to the personal “me” or “my” when I write in my journal. He uses “you.”}

That phrase “kingdom of one” brought me back to a book I started reading over the weekend called More: How to Move from Activity for God to Intimacy with God by Greg L. Hawkins. Greg is one of the teaching pastors at Oak Hills Church where he joins Max Lucado and Randy Frazee.  I just happened to read last night about what Greg calls the “Kingdom of Me.” To summarize Greg says, “Many of us live in a box. It’s a small box known as the Kingdom of Me. We control what happens there.” However, he goes on to show how that box is awful small.

My thoughts ran like this: I spend a lot of time promoting the kingdom of Me. Such a tiny, small kingdom. The Pharisees promoted their tiny kingdom based on performance, personal power and acclaim. Mine isn’t so much personal power but I can say performance rears its ugly head, as does a little bit of acclaim from time to time (you know…I’d like to be known in the community type of acclaim).  Funny (not the ha ha kind): the phrase which going through my head was “Help me, Lord! Rescue me from me!”

So…how big is your kingdom?

 

13 Comments so far ↓

  1. Ooh! This is indeed food for thought, Bill. Am I promoting the Kingdom of Me or the Kingdom of God? Whew! It’s time to rethink and refocus.
    Blessings!

  2. Lisa notes says:

    Yes, this is a prayer we all need: “Help me, Lord! Rescue me from me!” I definitely want to be rescued from my tiny Kingdom of Me. Thanks for these insights, Bill!

  3. Betty Draper says:

    This hits home brother. OUr pastor preach on something like this Sunday out of Romans, very convicting. I personally think the battle of “it’s all about me” is the hardest. The me only rears it’s head even when we are involved in doing something good. Good thoughts.

  4. Jeff says:

    I am not big on Kings or Kingdoms. I don’t think it is either all about me or all about the magic man in the sky. I think there is an inate need for solidarity that precludes an all about me lifestyle. I think there is something about reason and common sense that precludes inventing invisible friends to pave the way through life. Peace.

    • cycleguy says:

      You and I differ on that Jeff. Jesus said you have to choose whom you will serve. Bob Dylan sang “you gotta serve somebody.” Your kingdom is you Jeff and what you want. My kingdom is either me or the ONE I choose to serve. I happen to struggle with choosing from time to time.

      • Jeff says:

        I imagine in a make believe world one would struggle with reality from time to time. No kingdom here. Serving the most undesirable character in all of fiction seems like a struggle to make sense.

        • cycleguy says:

          Again we differ. Funny you should call Him a fictional character when history speaks of Him. There is proof he walked the earth, died and rose again. What is really ironic, Jeff, is that this fictional character you claim Him to be first, would agree his countenance was undesirable (Isaiah 53 even says that); but what is even more incredible is that even as you slam Him and claim Him fictional, he still loves and died for you.

          • Jeff says:

            We differ because I live in the natural world and you live in a make believe world.
            What you say would be incredible if true. You are misinformed if you think there is any credible evidence or proof of the resurrection claim. None. Reports are all of the graves opened up and dead people were wandering around. So silly. I am not into nor would I respect or appreciate a father who hangs his kid on a cross to make a point. That is evidence of the most undesirable character in all of fiction.

  5. floyd says:

    This is spot on. The flesh left unbridled by the power of God and gets ugly fast.

    I think we all have these tendencies and it’s a never ending fight with our flesh, by the power of God, to overcome it.

    There’s only One center of the universe… and none of us are it…