In a State of ME-ocracy

There is something that is truly freeing when you decide to stop living for yourself. At times it seems to go against everything within us. It is a fault we must constantly toil with that is innate to human character. The simple truth is that this is something the whole world struggles with, and it doesn’t help that this self-seeking behavior has become an attitude which is socially acceptable and justified. With all that said, Christians are still called to “love your neighbor as yourself” - a concept that is at the heart of The Dream Center.

Last week, during an amazing outreach program called Project Prevention, I was gently reminded of how it feels to apply this concept to my daily life. (On a quick side note, Project Prevention is an outreach that brings food and basic essentials to families in the surrounding area that are in danger of losing their kids to foster care). During my time with Project Prevention, the leaders challenged everyone in the small group, of no more than 15, to truly listen to the different testimonies shared by all of the families. More importantly, I was being challenged to remove myself as numero uno in my life. Looking back, what they were really asking of our small group is for just a small period of time to live our lives for someone we may never see again.

Whether it is a bin full of food, a handshake, a cheerful smile, or an encouraging word we were being asked to find a way to truly love our neighbor. We were letting someone else’s problems become our own, sharing in their successes, and especially their failures, and taking a genuine interest in a life other than our own. When this happens the changes are transforming. It is amazing what can happen when someone chooses to get over how important they think they are and become a blessing. When we abandon our state of me-ocarcy, we stop worrying about our personal appearance, status, or possessions, and we find that we gain a peace that truly surpasses all understanding.

It might not come natural to put a complete stranger’s needs in front of your own, but I promise when we finally make this decision it is life changing. In a world obsessed with finding itself, God desires for us to lose ourselves in service to others.

-Nic