"All That and A Bag of Chips!"

"Don’t think only of yourself. Try to think of the other fellow, too, and what is best for him." 1 Corinthians 10:24 (TLB)

"All that and a bag of chips!"

Do you know anyone who thinks that of themselves? You know, that one that has "It's all about me!" written on their forehead.

I have just enough college psychology to make me dangerous but I did learn a little. Babies are born with an egocentric behavior...... Crying when they have a physical problem is common. However, crying just because they want attention? They don't care that mom has a million chores to tend to....all they care about is their perceived need at the time. They don't understand anyone's need but their own.

While outside playing a child can hear the phone ring. In they come needing something........anything that will get mom's attention. They will get in mom's face telling her what they need never mind mom is talking. If that doesn't work, they will lay down in the floor, kicking and screaming until mom says

"I'll have to talk to you later. My child is needing something."

"I'm the apple of Mom's eye" they say to themselves as mom hangs up the phone
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 Ever Christmas shop with a six year old? The present they want to buy Mommy or Daddy is usually something they themselves want; a doll or a baseball glove. They can't distinguish their needs or point of view from that of others.

You would think that one would outgrow this childish behavior as they mature but a lot of teens are self conscious and that leads to egocentric behavior. They feel every eye is on them because, after all, they are more important than anyone else. And, heaven forbid, should they trip and fall in front of the class or spill a coke down their front.

"Oh, my gosh!! I am ruined. Everyone in the room will be talking about this from now on because after all, I am more important than anyone else in this room"

Then, there are the adults. Don't you love talking to an adult who is forever interrupting your conversation because the story they have is much more important than the one you are telling. After all, they are "awesome sauce".

How about the adult woman, who just has to have a new dress for every occasion because, heaven forbid, their friends should see them in the same dress they have ready worn.

"I can't wear this again because everyone saw me in it once and , of course, they will remember because "I'm all that and a bag of chips!" and, "How I look is noticed by everyone." Or the one who is always the last to show up at a gathering because they were spending time in front of the mirror to be sure they looked better than everyone else there.

And, we will not enter the political world of egocentric behavior. I could fill a notebook with that.
I'm sure all of us have known and loved people who exhibited altruistic behavior. My mother was a prime example. She put her family's needs and the needs of her friends well before her own. She never thought of herself as being more important than anyone else. She never worried about how she looked or what her friends thought of her.

Wouldn't our world be wonderful if there were less people who feel they are "all that and a bag of chips" and behaved in an altruistic manor; behavior that thinks more about the needs of others than their perceived needs. What if there were more Mother Teresa's in our world? What if we lived our lives the way Jesus lived His? What if when we leave this world, those who knew us could say, " I have never known a more caring person" rather than "They were the most self-centered human being I have about ever seen!"

"Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing." Philippians 2:3-4 (TLB)