Quick read, Lifelong application

On The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, by Tim Keller

Although self esteem is a buzzword from another era, we all know self hasn’t left center stage. At least I know from my own experience…

I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend one sunny day, when I suddenly caught myself looking into her sunglasses, not at her eyes, but at ME, warped in the rounded reflection.  Did I look good standing there, smiling as she talked?  Or did I have broccoli in my teeth?  

I’ve basked in self-obsession.

Another day, as worship music played during church, my voice joined in the lyrics, but my thoughts overruled with critiques: That leader is so much better than you. Don’t even try. 

I’ve wilted under self-accusation.

And on other occasions, I’ve heard the whisper: Aren’t you so offended by what that person just said to you? You don’t deserve that.  

I’ve retaliated in self-promotion.

Is there a way out from under the tyranny of Me, Myself, and I? It seems like an inescapable dilemma to be plagued by self, and that’s what first drew me to The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. 

Unpacking our sense of self, or ego, Tim Keller uses the analogy of a courtroom, based on 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7. Keller explains, throughout this pamphlet-sized book, that whether we view ourselves too highly or too lowly, neither frees us to have joy. The problem is: “Every single day, we are on trial.  That is the way that everyone’s identity works. And everything we do is providing evidence for the prosecution or evidence for the defense. Some days we feel we are winning the trial and other days we feel we are losing it.  But Paul says that he has found the secret.”   

There are some books that mark pivotal moments in our lives, and we are uniquely changed as a result of what we read. This was one of those books for me.