“If your soul is unhealthy, you can’t help anyone.” Dallas Willard
I am currently reading John Ortberg’s, Soul Keeping: Caring for the most important part of you.
Somewhere along the line, John wrote a few sentences on how self-importance can kill the soul.
These words had more impact on me then the entire book.
Sometimes it is the small things that make the biggest difference.
How does self-importance kill the soul?
I believe it is a subtle killer that sneaks up on you, like cancer.
Here are some examples of how I have seen self-importance over taken me and others.
I am a gold member on Alaska Airlines – I should go first.
I paid top dollar for the condo at the vacation resort – The condo should be five star and I should be treated with respect and acknowledgement.
I have 20 items in my basket but am in a hurry for a ministry event so I jump in the 12 or under line.
I feel pain because of my past, childhood upbringing, or poor choices and want the world to know how bad I had it or about the poor decisions I made.
I talk more than I listen.
I make assumptions about other people’s lives, thinking I have all the answers and solutions.
Self-importance is really idolatry of self. There is no way around it. When I do any of these things above, I have put myself above God and above others.
My need for recognition, my need to be seen, my need to be known, trumps any knowledge that I am teetering dangerously on the edge of a broken and empty soul.
In John Ortberg’s book, Soul Keeping, Dallas Willard says, “You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God. This alone is what makes a soul healthy.”
How is your soul today?
What do you think?