Omphaloskepsis

Yes, it is a real word and it means:  “contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation.”  (Merriam Webster Dictionary)  Sometimes we jokingly call it:  “Navel gazing.”  I don’t recommend the practice, frankly.   You could walk into a terribly hard wall or over a steep cliff while focusing intently on your belly-button!  Seriously, we can (and each of us does, from time to time)  become so wrapped up in ourselves– individually or as a group – that we fail to see the wider world. Our ideas, our emotions, our goals become so all-consuming the rest of life disappears.  Have you ever been mesmerized by your own belly-button?  Probably not, but more than a few of us have fallen into absorption with ourselves.

I recently heard a speaker ask-  “When you enter a room  which thought is predominant in your mind: “Here I am!” or “There you are!”?  Think about that. Is life about gaining applause, garnering attention, making a name for yourself?  Or, is it about serving in a way that forgets the “me” in favor of the “we”?  Jesus was not shy about asking us to forget about ourselves, was He?  Just in case we have forgotten, here’s what He said. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  Paul, a man who served Christ at high cost to himself, urges us to the antithesis of contemporary American value of Self-love. By the Spirit’s inspiration he says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:3-5, NIV)

Navel gazing can take two different forms, each producing the same result.  The first is expressed in feelings of grandiosity. “You are so fortunate that I am here because I’m so wonderful, wise, and good.”  Or, it may be found in feeling of extreme worthlessness. “I cannot do anything or contribute anything because I am such awful person.”  In each instance, the focus is on Self.

Christian, God formed us in His image, making us capable of love.  Sin broke us, but that was not the end of the story.  God did not abandon us!  He entered our world saying, “There you are!”  He looked for us, loved us while we were ignoring Him. "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5, NIV) The thought is completed with this promise and call: "Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." (Ephesians 2:8-10, The Message)

Our gaze turns from Self to Christ.  We are secure in His love, held in His grasp, and filled with the Spirit.  It’s not about me, nor you. It’s about Him!  Here’s the word from the Word. May it turn our eyes to Jesus! "For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, NLT)  "You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:5-6, NLT)

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Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul are you weary and troubled,

No light in the darkness you see?

There's light for a look at the Savior

And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus!

Look full in His wonderful face!

And the things of earth,

Will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Helen H. Lemmel

© Words: Public Domain