The Secret to Real Joy: Living a “You” Life in a Me-Centered World
We Have it All. Or Do We?
We are living in probably the greatest time of irony. On average, we have more money, more possessions, more recreation, more entertainment and more conveniences than any people through history.
Yet suicide rates are highest, more people than ever are on anti-depressants, feel unfulfilled and over all lack joy. My belief is that we suffer from self-centeredness and are experiencing its destructive effects.
We are living with our own desires and wishes at the forefront of all we do. The exact opposite of what we are taught from Scripture. We are bombarded by every commercial, billboard, magazine and media source with one message: “It’s all about me.”Even the church is preaching a gospel opposite what Jesus preached.
The Doctrine of Jesus
Christianity is not for the faint-hearted; in a nutshell, Jesus’ ministry was wrapped up in one doctrine: “Deny yourself.” Ouch. That’s hard!
“If we give freely, cheerfully, what is ours to give, a profound transformation takes place in our hearts.”
I’m hearing more and more, in Christian circles, “but I need time for me, you know, so I can better serve my family.” There is some truth in that, but it’s been greatly distorted. “Time for me” has turned into an underlying current nagging at her heart that constantly compels her to feel overworked and misunderstood. That’s not the road Christ asked us to walk.
His Last Act is Our Example
Here was our Savior, gripped with anguish over the torturous hours that awaited him…kneeling with towel and basin, to wash the feet of those flawed, imperfect men who would soon deny they even knew the one who had tenderly nurtured them these years.
That’s our last picture–His last earthly act, screaming loud and clear “IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!”
Given this precious and painful example, how then should we live?
Our perspective is radically changed when we see ourselves as givers, and not only that, but cheerful givers, instead of being taken from by those around us. Moms can especially fall prey to an attitude of being imposed on, taken from and drained, because of the many ways she sacrifices herself.
No One Can Take What You are Willing to Give
BUT…what if no one can take anything from you if you give it freely? This was Jesus’s way and it makes all the difference in how we see our role in this beautiful story. If we give freely, cheerfully, what is ours to give, a profound transformation takes place in our hearts.
A Generation of Mothers Living Joy
People need to see and hear and touch and feel a generation of women who are taking up their crosses daily with their families. Not begrudgingly, but with a strength of joy that braves all the tumultuous seasons of life. A denying of self until self is merely an empty vessel through which pure love can pour out onto those around us.
This is Jesus in shoe leather…and motherhood affords us such a precious opportunity to become more like Him!
Let’s keep the picture Christ left with us alive. We can kneel too…we can look up into the faces of our husbands and children, exhausted as we may be, even maybe in anguish about the trials of life, and we can wash their feet, partaking in the sufferings of Christ, counting it all joy.
