"It's All About Us?"

"Well Shannon, if you'd pull your nose out of your navel and get your focus back on the Lord, you wouldn't be struggling so much," my friend said rather matter-of-factly.

"Ouch! I resemble that remark," I joked back. Yet, I knew it was true and pinpointed my problem. I was young in the Lord and used to doing whatever it took to fulfill my will and satisfy my flesh. So the Lord sent me a godly older woman from Queens, NY, that wouldn't hold back any punches and called it like she saw it. She was a strong, sharp, but deeply loving mentor that helped me grow by being merciless with my flesh.

As I stood in Border's bookstore yesterday, perusing the books under the Christian label, her words came back to my mind while I read the bindings on the shelves.

• "New Day, New You"
• "100 Ways to Simplify Your Life"
• "How to Succeed at Being Yourself"
• "It's Your Time"
• "Your Best Life Now"
• "Managing Your Emotions"

The Lord has brought me a long way from where I was 20 something years ago, but the root of my discontent and frustration is still (most often) ME and my flesh. These are Christian books? I could go on and on with the titles that do nothing more than reflect another "self-help" book with a few verses thrown in.

We have to be careful what we read and who we listen to. Is the book we are soaking in teaching us how to improve ourselves or how to cry out in prayer to the One Who can change us? Is it causing us to crave more of Jesus or crave more of what He does for us? Are we being pulled more towards making a name for ourselves or are we learning what John 3:30 says, "He must become greater; I must become less."

Learning to live a life that denies your flesh is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. But our Jesus has promised in 2 Peter 1:3, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Sometimes, He sends a friend...or a husband...or a child, that reveals to you how loud your flesh is and how strong your will is. And when you find yourself wanting to scream in frustration, don't buy a Christian "self-help/success" book, pull your nose out of your navel and fix your eyes on Jesus. Matthew 16:24-25 (NLT) "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."


Now THAT is success...