How To Get Outside of Yourself

I like introspection, but this blog post won't be on introspection.

A while ago, I was discussing with my husband that people don't do tough introspection like I thought Christians should be regularly doing. My fabulous husband brought up a point that I hadn't considered in this conversation before. He said that the lack of introspection isn't the first thing that should be addressed. The root issue is humans are inherently selfish. If a selfish person is taught how to do introspection, they won't get out of it what they should because their focus is skewed. He warned me that if vain or arrogant people try to practice introspection, they won't see their flaws. He told me that we first need to do "extrospection". We need to get outside of ourselves to connect with others who are different or struggling. Then our "first world problems" will seem to diminish and shrink as we see others and experience what they go through.

And that is what will hold the proverbial mirror up to ourselves. We see someone struggling with hunger and we realize that we have been complaining that we don't prefer this snack in our overflowing pantry.

Knowing others and participating in their struggles expands our world. It keeps us from focusing on just ourselves as we begin to focus on something greater than ourselves.

Statistics and facts don't change people. Stories and experiences change people. Stories & experiences make things personal and touch our God-given compassion.

Ways to Get Outside of Yourself

I challenge you to read a variety of books if your area isn't as ethnically diverse (and even if it is).
Read stories by people of other ethnicities and cultures.
Read stories that challenge us with a radical faith, love, forgiveness, and obedience.
Read stories that will encourage us to make these radical traits common in the Church.

Meet people from other cultures and ethnicities. Listen more than you talk. Ask them sincere questions and seek to learn. Go on mission trips and see how God is working in other cultures. Form friendships and open your homes.

Through my travels, I have directly been to Jamaica, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Chicago, California, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and Mexico.

I have had students and made friends from India, Taiwan, China, Sudan, Somalia, Mexico, Guatemala, Myanmar/Burma, Thailand, Chile, Brazil, Eritria, Cyprus, Iran, D.R. Congo, and more places. So when I read about world events, I know people from the places being written about. When a new law comes out that impacts refugees and immigrants, it's not a theoretical law that has no bearing on my life, even though I am a native born US citizen. I know some of their hopes, dreams, and fears. And so what effects them effects me too.

Join in places and events when you are the minority. Worship in another language or culture.

Get outside of yourself, because it's not about you.