Free Me from Me: Escaping the Maze of Self-Centeredness by Embracing a God-Centered Life

Are you caught in a maze and don't even know it? Today, Dr. Kim is joined by Ryan Wekenman to talk about the maze of self-centeredness we all have to navigate. When we begin living for applause, appreciation, or validation, we can easily drift out of sync with the Lord and into a life focused on serving ourselves—the exact opposite of what God calls us to. In this powerful conversation, Ryan and Dr. Kim challenge us to recognize the pull toward self-focus and invite us to shift our attention back where it belongs: fully on Jesus. We pray this episode encourages you to take the focus off yourself and go all in on Him.   Episode Takeaways: Self-centeredness is a spiritual issue that affects everyone. Control is often at the root of self-centeredness. We need to be intentional about serving others. Self-improvement should not come at the expense of God-centered living. The Lord is our shepherd; we lack nothing when we trust Him. Finding freedom comes from letting go of the need for validation. Quotes from this Episode: "If Satan can't get you to not worship, he'll try to get you to make worship about you." "You don't need self-help. First and foremost, you need God's help." "The problem isn't self-help. The problem is thinking that self-help will save." "The way towards abundant life is serving and it's humbling yourself." "There's so much freedom on the other side of letting that performer in you die." "I think we have to be intentional about that because it's easy to absorb the culture and let that just become part of, well, everybody's doing it."- Dr. Kim "I think one thing that God has taught me and I still struggle with at times is learning to celebrate others." - Dr. Kim "I think what God is teaching me now, as old as I am, is that just do what I want you to do." - Dr. Kim   Time to Reflect: Where in my life am I most tempted to seek applause, appreciation, or validation instead of simply seeking the Lord? How might my focus on myself be affecting the way I love and serve my spouse and the people around me? What is one practical way I can shift my focus from myself to Jesus in my daily decisions and interactions this week? Mentioned in This Episode: Purchase your own copy of Free Me From Me Website: ryanwekenman.com; redrocksaustin.com Podcast: Afterthoughts Podcast; Stories in Scripture      Instagram: instagram.com/ryanwekenman      YouTube: YouTube.com/@ryanwekenman