I, Me, and Myself
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:42-45.
Larry Scherwitz, a psychologist, conducted a study on the relationship between heart disease and self-centeredness. He studied 150 patients hospitalized either for suspected heart disease or after a heart attack. He kept track of how often they used the pronouns “I, me, my, mine, or myself.” He found that patients with more severe disease made far more references to themselves. Also, the findings remained significant even when patients were matched for age, blood pressure, cholesterol, and Type A behavior. Scherwitz, in his study, found that people who are what he calls “self-involved” have more severe coronary artery disease than those who are more focused toward others.
It appears that there is scientific evidence that serving others is a very healthy thing to do and being concerned about others is a very healthy attitude. On the other hand, being concerned only with yourself, your interests, your activities, your plans (“I, me, my, mine, or myself.”) is a prescription for physical and spiritual disaster. If you want to do something really good for yourself, stop thinking about yourself all the time. Put the spotlight on the needs of other people and think about how you can be a part of meeting those needs.
If you really want to follow Christ, if you really want to be like Christ, then you will serve others; and not just yourself, and your interests. Jesus gave us the ultimate example of being concerned about the needs of others. Jesus did not just talk about meeting the needs of others. No, He continually demonstrated how to meet the needs of others, as He went about doing good, and was a servant to all He met. Jesus did not come to be served, but to give His own life in sacrificial service. Jesus, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings had a right to be served, but instead came to serve us.
It has been said by many a doctor that the very best thing that you can do for your physical health is to stop smoking. It may be that they will want to add that ending your self-involvement could be just as important to your physical health. Why not begin today to lift up your eyes from your own life, to the lives of those around you, as you look for opportunities to serve in obedience to your Lord.
(Selfishness is a true detriment to your health.)