Deserving, wanting, requiring
“Have it your way.” “You deserve it.” “Purely you.” “Whatever you want.” “It’s all about you.”
These messages are just being shouted at us from every direction: We need, we deserve, we require. Look at any commercial, and you’ll likely find out that you’re being terribly deprived of something, be it a hamburger, a new car, a computer, jewelry, a perfect job.
This theme has been around for about a month now, ever since I was spending time in Orlando. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it, but something was bothering me about the whole area. I realized that what really struck me was how pleasure-oriented that area was, how there were so many different ways to satisfy your every urge, whatever it may be.
In fact, I wrote this on 02/17/07:
It’s like there are so many places catering to your wants, your desires, your life. It’s so much to take in, and it just doesn’t feel quite right. Everything is so self-centered or self-focused, and it’s really sad to see. I know that I don’t have that many needs, and it’s just kind of uncomfortable to see this area just saturated with entertainment, as if we need to have all of these different things to satisfy us. It’s kind of weird.
That was in my “private” journal, and that was after spending a couple of days in Orlando. Now, don’t get me wrong for a second and think that I didn’t have a blast there. I had a wonderful time at Sea World and Disney World, but those were my honest observations at the time.
Interestingly enough, I was listening to Bill O’Reilly on the radio a couple of weeks ago. I never listen to him — in fact, I probably last caught his radio show several years ago — but when I tuned in, I was struck by what he said.
O’Reilly was commenting on how narcissistic this culture has become, in the way that we all seem to be looking out for Number One, pursuing whatever it is that we think will make us happy or will bring fulfillment.
This whole concept is so easy to buy into, especially since we tend to be self-serving and self-centered to begin with. Quite frankly, I think we can so easily become just so spoiled in this culture. I don’t think we can even comprehend how blessed we are, how many privileges we have in everyday life.
I believe that what made America great in the first place — what we are benefiting form now — is people who were selfless and humble; people who honestly believed that the guy next door was as important, if not more important, than he, himself. People would deny themselves left and right for the greater good, be it their family, their community, their country.
These days, though, we’re taught to satisfy every single urge the second it pops up. We become so acutely aware of our own issues, our own concerns, and our own imperfections that we have a hard time forgetting ourselves and focusing on somebody else. We are too busy looking out for ourselves that we neglect our neighbor.
To me, this seems like a dangerous trend. We are not going to be very unified if everybody has their eyes fixed on their own lives. There’s so much strength in unity, and it’s hard to go at it alone. Not only that, I don’t think it’s healthy to be so self-focused. It’s a bad habit to get into, because so many times in the real world you need to choose between yourself and someone or something else. We have got to train ourselves to know that we are not the most important thing on this planet. Our wants and our needs are two very different lists.
I really wonder what would happen if we went back to the Golden Rule, to obeying what Jesus said about loving others as we would love ourselves. Just imagine that! If we would just forget ourselves and be looking out for others, imagine what strength there would be, what unity.