Adjust Your Focus

“She’s living her best life.” “You do you.” The world is constantly trying to sell us the lie that if we only focused on ourselves more, then we would be happy, but the Scriptures and science would disagree. This is something that has been studied and proven in secular social sciences. Focusing on others and doing for others improves our well-being. This is one of the many times science has proven the truth found in Scripture. So we find that living your best life is less about focusing on yourself and more about focusing on others.

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3-8)

Humility is thinking of yourself less, and when we live in a humble way, putting others first, we find that God lifts us up and we begin to have the same attitude as Christ. So many problems arise in our lives simply because we are focusing on ourselves. Can you really be annoyed or irritated or insecure if you are not focusing on yourself but are instead focusing on others? When we think of others as better than ourselves it takes the focus off of us. When you stop being annoyed at the crowded grocery aisle, you might notice the elderly woman who needs help reaching the product on the top shelf. The King and Creator of the world came down as a servant to die a criminal’s death, to pay a debt He did not owe. Jesus lived and died and rose again, all for everyone else. Jesus is the ultimate example of living a humble life focused on others and we are called to follow His example.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8)

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

This world offers us a lot—things we think we really need if we focus on ourselves. But instead of focusing on what the world offers, we need to focus on the Father, on the things that are not seen, and on the list given to us in Philippians 4:8. We have a focus problem and we need to adjust that focus onto others. The next time you feel annoyed or irritated or insecure, take a second to adjust your focus away from yourself and onto someone else. The world will tell us to focus on ourselves, to get some “me time,” to go to your “man cave,” to “live your best life now,” to buy that thing that will finally make you happy—but God tells us to humbly fix our eyes on Him and think about things that are not seen, to take on the same attitude as Jesus and consider others better than ourselves. Adjust your focus onto others and take on the same attitude as Jesus Christ.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.