Even Postage Stamps Become Useless When They Get Stuck to Themselves
If you are only looking out for yourself, look out! Wesley Huber said, “There is nothing quite so dead as a self-centered man — a man who holds himself up as a self-made success, and measures himself by himself and is pleased with the result.” Is your favorite letter “I”? Listen: “The core of sin is ‘I’ no matter how you spell it” (Ed Cole). The only reason pride lifts you up is to let you down.
Norman Vincent Peale observed, “The man who lives for himself is a failure. Even if he gains much wealth, power, or position, he is still a failure.” Conceit makes us fools: “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12 NIV). The man who believes in nothing but himself lives in a tiny world. The best way to be happy is to forget yourself and focus on other people. Henry Courtney said, “The bigger a man’s head gets, the easier it is to fill his shoes.” A swelled head always proves there is plenty of room for improvement.
“The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man’s own eyes when they look upon his own person” (Alexander Pope). Egotism is the only disease in which the patient feels well while making everyone around him feel sick. Egotism blossoms but bears no fruit. Those who sing their own praises seldom receive an encore. Charles Elliot intones, “Don’t think too much of yourself. Try cultivating the habit of thinking of others; it will reward you. Selfishness always brings its own revenge.”
While gazing upon selfish accomplishments, the arrogant often miss God by failing to see what He is doing. Rick Renner said, “Don’t miss the plan of God by self-consumption.”
When you are on a high horse, the best thing to do is to dismount at once. You can’t push yourself forward by patting yourself on the back. Burton Hillis remarked, “It’s fine to believe in ourselves, but we mustn’t be too easily convinced.” An egotist is his own best friend. The fellow who is deeply in love with himself should get a divorce.
Folks who boast of being self-made usually have a few parts missing. You can recognize a self-made man; his head is oversized, and he has arms long enough to pat himself on the back. A conceited person never gets anywhere because he thinks he is already there. Change your favorite word from “I” to “You”.