How to get over yourself

The other evening on Shark Tank" Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, came up with a bit of advice that struck me as right on target. He said, "Never take advice from anyone who doesn't have to live with the consequences." Granted, it probably will never go down in history as one of the fifty best quotes of all time, but before you dismiss it, let's give it a moment.
       Advice comes easy. Just "ask and you will receive" (to borrow a biblical phrase). Almost everyone has an answer to any question you might ask. Where is the best place to live? What should I do to stop a run-away horse? Why should I get my news from the Internet? How can I get this thing opened? It is so easy to get advice from those who will not be affected by your decision. And that, precisely, is the problem. There is something about the human specie that enables us to provide quick answers to issues that don't affect us. I know that if I have a cup of rich coffee late in the evening, it will be almost morning by the time I drop off to sleep. So, I give up late evening coffee. But if you should ask me whether YOU should have a cup at 11 PM, I might say, "It's up to you,” or, "Why not!" Why don't I exercise concern for you and ask how drinking coffee late in the evening affects you? The answer is that by nature we are hopelessly egocentric. Your reaction to coffee is not all that important to me. We came into the world that way and progress is either slow or nonexistent. Christian theology calls it "the fall.”  God made us in his image – that is, that we might sustain a relationship to him. But when the primal pair decided against God's restriction at the "advice" of the Tempter, they transitioned to a condition in which they were doomed to live primarily, if not absolutely, for themselves.
       Is there a remedy? Christian theology says, Yes. The gift of God's Son was a sacrifice for our sin (i.e., our egocentricity) to be received by faith so that our initial relationship might be restored. Unfortunately that process is incredibly slow. As we are gradually released from what we became by deciding to go it on our own, we are empowered by the Spirit to do such things as to remind our questioner of possible consequences. In secular terms it is “getting over yourself,” in Biblical language it is “being saved.” And I can assure you that nothing short of a transforming relationship to Jesus Christ can supply the power necessary for a successful conclusion .

∞