Looking beyond myself.

     We don't do this much.  What does it mean to look beyond myself?  Am I so self-consumed that all I can see is me and how the world rotates around me?  What's out there?  Should I be removed from the equation, what would that same world look like?  Would people really miss me should I be absent?  All of these questions come to play when we begin to wonder where we fit, how we fit, and what we are supposed to be doing with life.  I wish I could tell you this is a one time thing that is completed at age 18 when we graduate from high school.  It would be nice to have things so set in our lives (in a positive way) that we no longer need to ponder the question nor the responsibility of the answer.
     Quite simply our lives and the lives of those around us change all the time.  Priorities change.  Likes change.  Dislikes usually remain the same.  Looking beyond myself requires 3 parts.  First we must never forget our past for fear that we will only repeat it.  Forgetting the past gives us no focus point on where we have come from, the good or bad that has taken place, and the people who have been part of that time.  Second, we need to stay in the present.  Taken at it's base meaning, we decide to take life one day at a time not based on the past or the future but on the present.  Living today for today eliminates the burden of both the past and the future.  Neither of which we are capable of changing.  Third, we need to have a dream, vision or some other goal that draws us forward.  The input for this dream, vision, or goal should come out of what we are giving away (ourselves) rather than what we are taking. 
     One of Jesus' oft used phrases is "take no thought".  Take no thought of tomorrow, what you eat, what you wear, what you possess.  Take no thought of what you want but rather focus on what you need and what others need.  Take no thought of self promotion at home, work, or in the community.  Take no thought of your personal gain and certainly take no thought of forcing your agenda into the lives of others.  When we live beyond ourselves, we deny ourselves.  Self denial is simply difficult action that often results in the freedom to do what God wants us to do.  When we take no thought of ourselves, we have the time and place and means to take thought of others.  Looking beyond myself is the only means by which we can portray Christ to a needy world.
     We are all selfish people to one degree or another.  In fact, we are so selfish that we have become a world of consumers instead of a world of producers.  We believe we have the right to take and expect others to give just to satisfy our selfishness.  How do we overcome this and begin to look beyond ourselves?  I believe that telling the truth about myself is the first step.  I am a sinner in need of the grace of God.  Taking the grace of God should be the last selfish act that any of us take when we take what Christ did for us to secure our salvation.  From there on out we should be unselfishly giving away that same grace.  If we live our days giving away the grace of God we will have no time or desire to look beyond ourselves, live in the past or plan on the future.  I know it's a maverick concept.  You and I know that there will be rewards for our faithful selfless living and maybe even keep that in the front of our minds.  Go, live a life where you look beyond yourself.