Upon entering college...

             

...I don't think I understood how hard it would be. College is amazing, don't get me wrong, but it is so hard. There is such an opportunity to get caught up in yourself. Even in a Christian college it is easy to find yourself thinking, what will I do with with my life? Who are my friends? How am I making a good impression? It is easy to become selfish when these become the questions your hearts is reflecting upon daily. God convicted me about this in the past few weeks. It's easy for me to look out for myself and purposely elevate myself when I'm feeling self-conscious. Living for me can be exhausting, probably because it's not the way God designed us to live. So how can we fix this epidemic of selfishness as we live in a society that is all about "putting yourself first?"
            
First it is important to remember that we are not our own. 1 Corinthians 6 discusses the importance of living in this knowledge. I encourage you to read the entire chapter, but verses 19-20 really have impacted me. They state,

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."

We are Christ's. Our life should not be about bringing glory to ourselves, it is all about bringing Him glory. As we journey through life it is important to remember that we are continually living in His grace, abiding in His love, and walking in everlasting His forgiveness. Grace is such a beautiful thing - He loves us despite our sins. How humbling. How marvelous. His grace compels our worship of Him.
         
Second, it is also so important to remember to put others first. What? Yes, that's right, put others before yourself and see how it changes you.  A blog post I read recently by Leslie Ludy stated it well. She said,

"Though we typically become more socially refined in our selfishness as we grow into adulthood, often we never grasp what it means to be truly humble.  In Romans 12:3 Paul exhorts us: For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…

In our “put yourself first” culture, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking too highly of ourselves.  Instead of looking for ways to build others up, we are often far more concerned with building ourselves up.  Whether we strive to be the center of attention at social gatherings, gossip and put others down in order to elevate our own reputation, or spend the majority of our time trying to build up our popularity on social media platforms – our society is rife with opportunities to choose self-honor over humility. 

This week, ask God for the grace to tune out the “me, me, me” messages of our culture, and focus on building others up, instead of yourself.  Look for ways to encourage and strengthen those around you.   When we approach others with an attitude of true humility, we reflect the glory of God and reveal the nature of Christ." (To read the whole article click Here.)

Well, That's all for now. Just wanted to share what was on my heart with all you out there.