The word “ego” is one of those words that has developed a bit of a bad reputation over the years.  The word itself just means a person’s sense of self.  It has come to mean, in our culture, that someone is self-centered, or thinks highly of themselves.  Each of us has an ego, unless we never think about ourselves at all . . . ever, and I doubt that.

What Do We Think of Ourselves?

It certainly is not wrong to think of ourselves.  In fact, it is essential.  We need to concern ourselves with our needs(e.g. food, shelter, clothing, safety, etc.).  That does not mean that we ONLY think of ourselves, but that we do need to have concerns regarding ourselves.  But when we think of ourselves, what do we think?  What should we think [of ourselves]?  Let’s start with the beginning [of self].

What To Think

I am created in the image of God(Gen. 1:27).  I want you to let that sink in for a minute.  Don’t just state it, but dwell on it.  What does that mean?  Nothing else that God created(Gen. 1) was created in His image . . . only people were created in His image.  In Gen. 9:6, we are told that God said that anyone who murdered another person needed to be put to death, specifically because that person had murdered a person, who is created in the image of God.  By virtue of the fact that we are created in God’s image, we are important, we are valuable.  That connection matters.  It matters to God, so it should matter to us.  This means that I am made in the image of God . . . and every person I see, speak with, etc. is also made in the image of God.

Getting back to ego(i.e. sense of self), that means that I need to think at least somewhat highly of myself.  This is not to say that I should think TOO highly of self.  In Rom. 12:3, Paul tells the saints in Rome that they should not think more highly of themselves than they should, but rather to think about themselves soberly(i.e. clearly).  In other words, don’t think too highly of yourself(but at the same time you should not think too lowly of yourself, either).     And when we think of ourselves, we need to do so with a clear head.

In Phil. 2:3, Paul told the church in Philippi that they should consider others ahead of themselves, doing so out of humility.  They were effectively to put the needs of others ahead of their own.  I doubt Paul was referring to life sustaining needs(e.g. food, shelter, clothing, safety), but rather looking at how we think of others.  Instead of always thinking of yourself first, be willing to humble yourself and ignore something you might “want” and do what you can to serve another, possibly helping with one of their “needs,” or maybe even just one of their “wants.”

What About My Wants?

There is nothing wrong with having our own, individual “wants.”  We need to make sure those wants are in line with what God wants of us, which is really just what is best for us.  And we do need to take care of ourselves.  If you don’t feed yourself, after a while you will be useless to others, as you will have died of starvation.  Unfortunately, in the “ME” culture that we live in, it is often “me first” or maybe even “just me.”  And that is clearly contrary to God’s Word.  We help when we can.  If we are blessed more than others, we should be helping more than others.  Proverbs 19:17 states that people are to be kind to the poor.  In I Tim. 6:18, Paul told Timothy to tell people to be generous to those who are in need and to be willing to share.  We cannot help everyone, but just because we cannot help everyone, that is not an excuse to help no one.

Conclusion

If all blessings(i.e. good things) come from God(James 1:17), we should be willing to help others.  He didn’t just give them to us to horde.  He is a Giver.  We are supposed to be like Him.  If He is generous with us we need to be generous with others.  Let’s make sure we look at others, I mean REALLY look at others.  See if there is some need that we can satisfy.  We all have limited resources(i.e. time, money, etc.), so we cannot do everything for everybody.  But if we can do something for somebody, even a cup of cold water(Matt. 10:42 – Jesus used an example of something that seemed very minor), let’s be sure we are looking for those opportunities, and that we make the most of them when they are available.  And let us no grow weary of doing good[to others](Gal. 6:9).