Has anybody ever told you to get over yourself? I got told that the other day and I really had no idea what it meant. I mean on the face of it the words seem pretty simple but I had the feeling that there was a lot more going on than just the obvious meaning of those three little words.
So I did what any smart guy does now when faced with something that you don’t understand. I googled it of course. The most common usage was as an answer to someone that is complaining about their circumstances or lot in life and those complaints being rooted in some kind whining.
I didn’t think that this applied to me. I’m not trying to say I’m all that special but I don’t really do very much complaining. With that in mind I started to think about how the phrase could be applied to me during the conversation that I was having. Maybe I do think that I am all that special after all. Do I let my ego get in the way but without complaining? Do I think in my quietness that I am superior to those that like to put voice to their feelings and thoughts?
Maybe I’ve been fooling myself all this time. Just because I keep quiet doesn’t mean I don’t complain after all. I can spend a lot of time complaining and murmuring in my head. My thought life isn’t as pure as my verbal life.
Since I started thinking about these things I have been trying to examine my thoughts more critically. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Don’t get me wrong I know how important your thought life is. The Bible tells us many times how we ought to think and how we ought to examine our thoughts. But until now I hadn’t thought of complaining thoughts to be something that needed to be held captive like impure or immoral thoughts.
I now realize that keeping my complaints bottled up,in my head may be even worse than voicing them. I have allowed these thoughts to sort of poison my thinking. It’s a slow poison to be sure I’m still pretty good at putting that kind of thing behind me. But I can see over time how the sheer amount of time and energy I’ve put into those kind of thoughts has taken it’s toll on me.
Are you like me? Do you slog through life with your mouth shut and your mind buzzing? If you are then you like me you need to find a way to put voice to your thoughts without resorting to mormuring and complaining. Don’t let the slow poison of bitter thoughts eat away at you.
For me then I’m going to treat complaining thinking just like any other errant thought. I will capture it and bring it into obedience to Jesus. I will then use it for my betterment by examining it to find out where it comes from so it can be dealt with.
Furthermore and harder for me I have to find a way to express these thoughts to the people involved but without complaining. I mean at the heart a complaint is an expression of the desire for change. These things can be expressed in a positive way. When people are complaining they are just telling you that they want things to change. If you just complain on the inside no body will ever know that you want change right? Then circumstances will not change or when they do you won’t get much of a say in how they do.
So recognize your complaining thoughts. Grab them and transform them into a positive desire for change then express that desire to those around you in a way that will allow an open dialogue. Everybody wins.
Congratulations you’ve just gotten over yourself.
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