UNIVERSE

We seem to get it confused that we are not the center of the universe. In fact, truth is, there is a little two-year old inside each of us. That inner war is at the root of the fights and quarrels in the Middle East ... it is at the root of the war on terror ... it is at the root of the arguments you had in the marketplace recently or the one you had with your spouse or your parents or your son or daughter this week ... and that kind of battle inside starts very early.

Take, for example, a fresh, out-of-the-oven little bundle of joy we call a baby. That cute little thing is going to have desires that battle within him.

Joelene and I have three daughters - and some nights - when they were little - they would make those ‘passions that battle inside’ known at two in the morning. That precious little girl who was the object of our affection and devotion would feel a little twinge of hunger - and BAM! That little treasure wouldn’t say: ‘My, it looks dark outside - it’s probably the middle of the night. I’m sure Daddy and Mommy are very, very tired right now. This would probably be an extremely bad time to inconvenience them. I think I’ll just lie here and softly coo for a few hours until the alarm goes off and then I’ll remind them I need a little milk.’

Not on your life. She would scream bloody murder and she didn’t care where we were or who heard her in the whole city. She was communicating: “I want milk and I want it now.” And Joelene would diligently get up and feed her while I would lie in bed diligently praying for her.

But kids grow up. They get to be two. Two year olds are hard-wired for selfishness - they can’t help it. The world revolves around them. They get away with things we’d never get away with. They run around the house and the yard naked after their baths. If you do that, you get arrested. They are obsessed with what they want ... and when they don’t want you around, they give you the straight-arm and say: ‘No.’ Who taught them that? Did you teach them to do the straight-arm tactic?

But two-year olds grow up. They get to be 50. And sometimes when Joelene is watching something on TV that I hate -- like we’re in the 17th hour of HGTV -- I just want to go over and yank the remote away and say ‘Enought! Mine, mine, mine.’ I have that two-year old still inside me.

But God reminds us we are not the center of the universe; He is - and He will not share the centerpiece of your life with anything or anyone ... because He is crazy about you. Perhaps it’s time to fully realize you’re not the center of the universe ... time to become clear about who is at the center of the universe ... and time to get yourself properly aligned in the universe.

And be blessed.