I wrote this for my sermon “Deconstructing Self.” I think it just about sums up my thoughts on “self” in modern Western culture.
A Self-perpetuating World
Our world is self-absorbed with self-acceptance and will continue the search for self-actualization until our self-aggrandizing lifestyle of self-appointed self-care leaves us completely self-centered. If we do not start a process of self-cleaning our self-consumed heart, we will end up self-defeated drones. Any kind of self-deluded self-description that is self-directed will result in a self-disgusted self-display of self-education.
Why do we cling to thoughts of self-existent that only creates self-hating instead of self-imposed self-improvement? A self-initiated pursuit of self-obsession is inherently self-ordained but the underling evil is in the self-orientation. The self-pleasing life that is self-preoccupied will never be self-preserving even though it is self-produced. A self-professed heart may be self-promoted, but it can never be self-protective. In the end, self-worship robs us of our very selves.