A spiritual mentor that I respected deeply used to say that “You and I don’t really begin to live until we lose ourselves in a cause that’s bigger than we are!” How easy it is for any of us to engage in self-absorption—acting as though the world revolves around us! That’s the reason Dr. Karl Menninger (1893-1990) responded the way he did when someone asked, “What would you advise a person to do, if he felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people expected him to reply, “Consult a psychiatrist,” because that was his profession. To their amazement, Dr. Menninger replied, “Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need, and do something to help that person!”

How wise the writer of Proverbs was when he wrote: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:24-25/NIV). The thought here is that generosity is the pathway to blessing and further prosperity. By contrast, stingy people rarely have friends and hurt themselves in the long run. Saint Paul admonishes us in this regard: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6/NIV).

Most people who focus all their attention on themselves do so because they feel that they’re missing something in their lives, so they’re attempting to get it back. What we need to do is to leave self-absorption behind and develop a giving spirit. That will help overcome some of those feelings of deficiency in a positive and healthy way.

That’s why Dr. Menninger observed, “Generous people are rarely mentally ill people.” People are less likely to focus on themselves if they’re trying to help someone else! The hymn writer Charles D. Meigs picked up on this this when he wrote:

Lord, help me live from day to day.
In such a self-forgetful way,
That even when I kneel to pray,
My prayer shall be for others.

Others, Lord, yes, others,
Let this my motto be.
Help me to live for others,
That I might live like Thee!