I'm the Man
Girl you can tell everybody
Yeah you can tell everybody
Go ahead and tell everybody
I'm the man I'm the man I'm the man
Yes I am yes I am yes I am
I'm the man I'm the man I'm the man...
This is my world...
This is my world ....
Today I heard Aloe Blaac's song, "The Man." I have heard it many times, and it has a catchy tune, easy to sing to. Today, I really listened to the words. I put some of the main parts of the song up in blue above. All I could think was, man, what an egocentric way of thinking! Parts of the song do not completely display this attitude, but it seems there is a running tone of egocentrism throughout.
If you know anything about developmental psychology, you know that toddlers and teenagers are the most egocentric of all other age groups. What does this mean? This simply means that they believe the world revolves around them. Their thoughts are the right thoughts. Their perspective is the only one that matters. It is their experiences by which they base truth. They whine when they don't get their way. They think you should stop everything you are doing to attend to their needs. They demand attention. They see the world from only one angle, one lens. They are the King of their worlds. They are the ones that matter the most. Everyone's time fits around their schedule. You get the picture.
My first reaction to Aloe Blaac's song, again, was, "Man, this is so egocentric! Who told this guy he was better than anyone or that that was 'his world'?" Immediately I stopped myself in my thoughts. How often do I display egocentric behavior!? EVERY DAY! Every single day! If something or someone does not fit within my schedule, I am highly unlikely to stop what I am doing to attend to a need. If someone's perspective is different than mine, I am quick to judge or think they are wrong. I base truth off of MY experiences a lot of the time, truth about relationships, people, life... There are times when I have a pity party if my life isn't going my way. I expect others to reach out to me, but I don't reach out to them very often. My life revolves around me. My agenda. My schedule. My my my... As I was judging Aloe Blaac, I had to step back and take a look at the "plank in my own eye," as Jesus says in Matthew 7. I saw that plank today.
This kind of thinking is immature. It shows that we are acting like babies, not adults. It is unrealistic thinking. One cannot honestly look at himself in the mirror and think, "my life is the only one of value." There are millions of life experiences. Millions of perspectives. Millions of other people.
Not only is egocentric thinking immature (developmentally) for an adult, unrealistic, and selfish, it is also completely ignoring the fact that this world IS NOT OURS. It is God's. PERIOD. This is the absolute truth. We cannot base our view of reality and truth off of our life experiences. Though there are many perspectives, many worldviews, We need to have something more sturdy by which to measure truth. That foundational truth is King Jesus. He owns it all. He made it all. He is in charge. He is Master. He is Lord. NOT ME. NOT YOU. How often do we get caught up in our little worlds at home or work and forget who actually sits on the throne!? Man, I know I do sometimes.
I would venture to say that it is a good thing that none of us owns the world. I told a client something yesterday about humanity because of her negative view of mankind. She has a very easy time seeing the imperfections in others, but she does not so easily see them in herself. She feels the world owes her something because of the pain they have caused her, but I said, "Everyone is stained. Everyone. Even you. Your pain and anger is real, but it is time to start shifting perspectives."
We all "have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)." Everyone. No one is perfect. "None is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10)." Why would it be ok for anyone who is stained to be the Lord over all? To be the Master of all? To be the King? To be "the man?" It doesn't make any logical sense for us to be our own little Kings of our own little worlds. It doesn't make any sense when the One who DOES sit on the throne is perfect, flawless (Isaiah 6). He is the One who knows all, who knows best. He is the one who is present in every circumstance, in every life. He is the one who never disappoints. He is the one who deserves all attention and affection, not us. May we remember who God is. May we remember that this world is not ours when we get caught up in our daily routines of life, when someone hurts our feelings, when we suffer or experience pain, when things are going well and everything is "under control," when someone else has a different worldview or viewpoint, when the attention is not on us...
I would pray that we all would stop saying, "I'm the man. This is my world." Instead, I pray that we would say, "more of You, God, less of me (John 3:30)."
Yeah you can tell everybody
Go ahead and tell everybody
I'm the man I'm the man I'm the man
Yes I am yes I am yes I am
I'm the man I'm the man I'm the man...
This is my world...
This is my world ....
Today I heard Aloe Blaac's song, "The Man." I have heard it many times, and it has a catchy tune, easy to sing to. Today, I really listened to the words. I put some of the main parts of the song up in blue above. All I could think was, man, what an egocentric way of thinking! Parts of the song do not completely display this attitude, but it seems there is a running tone of egocentrism throughout.
If you know anything about developmental psychology, you know that toddlers and teenagers are the most egocentric of all other age groups. What does this mean? This simply means that they believe the world revolves around them. Their thoughts are the right thoughts. Their perspective is the only one that matters. It is their experiences by which they base truth. They whine when they don't get their way. They think you should stop everything you are doing to attend to their needs. They demand attention. They see the world from only one angle, one lens. They are the King of their worlds. They are the ones that matter the most. Everyone's time fits around their schedule. You get the picture.
My first reaction to Aloe Blaac's song, again, was, "Man, this is so egocentric! Who told this guy he was better than anyone or that that was 'his world'?" Immediately I stopped myself in my thoughts. How often do I display egocentric behavior!? EVERY DAY! Every single day! If something or someone does not fit within my schedule, I am highly unlikely to stop what I am doing to attend to a need. If someone's perspective is different than mine, I am quick to judge or think they are wrong. I base truth off of MY experiences a lot of the time, truth about relationships, people, life... There are times when I have a pity party if my life isn't going my way. I expect others to reach out to me, but I don't reach out to them very often. My life revolves around me. My agenda. My schedule. My my my... As I was judging Aloe Blaac, I had to step back and take a look at the "plank in my own eye," as Jesus says in Matthew 7. I saw that plank today.
This kind of thinking is immature. It shows that we are acting like babies, not adults. It is unrealistic thinking. One cannot honestly look at himself in the mirror and think, "my life is the only one of value." There are millions of life experiences. Millions of perspectives. Millions of other people.
Not only is egocentric thinking immature (developmentally) for an adult, unrealistic, and selfish, it is also completely ignoring the fact that this world IS NOT OURS. It is God's. PERIOD. This is the absolute truth. We cannot base our view of reality and truth off of our life experiences. Though there are many perspectives, many worldviews, We need to have something more sturdy by which to measure truth. That foundational truth is King Jesus. He owns it all. He made it all. He is in charge. He is Master. He is Lord. NOT ME. NOT YOU. How often do we get caught up in our little worlds at home or work and forget who actually sits on the throne!? Man, I know I do sometimes.
I would venture to say that it is a good thing that none of us owns the world. I told a client something yesterday about humanity because of her negative view of mankind. She has a very easy time seeing the imperfections in others, but she does not so easily see them in herself. She feels the world owes her something because of the pain they have caused her, but I said, "Everyone is stained. Everyone. Even you. Your pain and anger is real, but it is time to start shifting perspectives."
We all "have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)." Everyone. No one is perfect. "None is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10)." Why would it be ok for anyone who is stained to be the Lord over all? To be the Master of all? To be the King? To be "the man?" It doesn't make any logical sense for us to be our own little Kings of our own little worlds. It doesn't make any sense when the One who DOES sit on the throne is perfect, flawless (Isaiah 6). He is the One who knows all, who knows best. He is the one who is present in every circumstance, in every life. He is the one who never disappoints. He is the one who deserves all attention and affection, not us. May we remember who God is. May we remember that this world is not ours when we get caught up in our daily routines of life, when someone hurts our feelings, when we suffer or experience pain, when things are going well and everything is "under control," when someone else has a different worldview or viewpoint, when the attention is not on us...
I would pray that we all would stop saying, "I'm the man. This is my world." Instead, I pray that we would say, "more of You, God, less of me (John 3:30)."
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