Skip to main content

Meet the People Who Don't Think About Me

Have you ever walked in a crowd of people and considered just how much they are not thinking about you? I have. Reality is eye opening. 

See, I wake up in the morning, either because I can't sleep or because I stupidly responsibly set my alarm the night before. And as I yawn and stretch and attempt to figure out what day it is, my thoughts soon turn to...

Myself!

That's right. I sense my hunger. I know exercise is needed. What will I wear today? Will anyone be close enough to notice if I shaved? And just before my to-do list comes rushing at me with the force of a monster truck, I know I need to head to the bathroom. So there is no time to be hitting the snooze. 

My first dozen thoughts are all about me. Which, by my math, will equal more thoughts than everyone else in the world, combined, thinks about me all day. It's not even close. And it shouldn't be close. 

Because it's not about me. Not that this truth will keep me from thinking about myself for the next hour or so as I actually get around. Will people appreciate the flavor of deodorant I chose? Will people like how I coordinate my shoes with my outfit? Will people notice my chiseled muscles and my finely manicured face?

Like I said, I'm quite ridiculous. 

But every once in a while I will be walking somewhere, be it a store, sidewalk or any other place groups of people who don't care about me congregate. And I'll notice them not noticing me. Weird, I'll think to myself. Perhaps if these people got to know me, they would pay me more attention. 

Then my face starts to hurt, as reality comes up and gives me a good smack. They wouldn't. They shouldn't. And someday I will stop putting in so much effort to get them to do otherwise. I will. I should. 

Because it's not about me. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

Mom

I will travel this weekend to Georgia to celebrate the life of my mom, who passed away just before Christmas.  A Celebration of Life service. That’s what we’re calling it. Because that’s what my mom wanted. She was quite clear on this matter. She didn’t want a funeral. She didn’t want people mourning for her.  As a Christian, she was very certain on her eternal destination and she wanted everything, in her life and death, to reflect that. There will be music, people sharing tributes, and a message given by her pastor.  If that sounds similar to a funeral, I agree. But semantics aside, let me share with you a few more things about my mom. Along the way, you might learn a few things about why I function the way that I do. As I’ve considered my mom’s legacy, a few words have come to mind. Steadfast My mom knew what she believed, lived what she knew to be true, and didn’t really care what anyone else thought about it. I have no inclination to remember my mom as some perfect p...