Skip to main content

“Unless your spiritual side is strong, your ego will get in the way and you’ll think life is all about you.”

A thought by Ken Blanchard & Morton Shaevitz (2015-02-02) from their book, Refire! Don't Retire:Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life (p. 112). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Ken and Morton say that, “EGO stands for Edging God Out.”  You call the shots, it’s all on you and that is great if you have a strong self-worth. 

But then they asked, “Did you ever notice in your career that your performance was better at some times than others... And have you noticed that people are fickle— sometimes they’re with you and the next minute they’re not?”

Then they said, “So your performance varies and people’s opinion of you fluctuates. When you base your self-worth on outside influences like these, every day is like walking on eggshells, because how you feel about yourself is totally dependent on outside circumstances and other people.”  But here is the key, “When you believe you are loved unconditionally by God, your self-worth does not depend on people, places, or things.”

Basing your worth on something that is fickle is not a good foundation.  So “Unless your spiritual side is strong, your ego will get in the way and you’ll think life is all about you.”  And it is not.  Because “if you get into your EGO— which can also stand for Everything Good is Outside— you exhaust yourself by searching for your self-worth out there somewhere.”

Your worth comes from inside and it is built on something that will not change and that is God.

So how is your ego doing today?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives.”

A thought by Jon Tyson from his book, The Burden Is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success (p. 118). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But is that all that is important? Jon says, “We want to realize an immediate return from whatever we invest in. I am prone to this way of thinking in so many areas of my life. ‘I paid a lot for that meal, yet the portions were not that big.’ ‘I invested two hours in that movie, and it was just okay.’   ‘I went to church, but the sermon wasn’t that profound.’ We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives. But beauty doesn’t fit within that framework. When Mary anointed Jesus with oil, there was an immediate outcry against her extravagant generosity. ‘It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ (Mark 14:5) One gospel depicts the disciples crying, ‘Why this waste?...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...