"Me Fuhst"

There was once a little sister who would frequently say "Me fuhst" whenever something good was coming for her and her sister.   When playing on the swing, "me fuhst"; when having cookies, "me fuhst"; when opening Christmas presents "me fuhst", and so on.    Then one day, the girls got in trouble and they were going to be disciplined.   When daddy came, this little sister looked at him with all sincerity and said, "her fuhst".

This is one of my favorite stories, and perhaps one of the most telling of the human condition.   I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially as I'm confronted with the "me fuhst" syndrome every day.   I don't know about your area, but in Dallas there is this crazy driving condition in which a vehicle will see a sign that their lane is ending, but instead of merging they will speed up and then cut off the vehicle in the front of the line.   This is not only a dangerous habit, but it causes delay for everyone else as they are forced to brake to allow these lane-crashers.   It even gets worse!   It is not unusual to see someone stopped in the lane pull out and rush up just to get 3 or 4 cars ahead.   To what end?   Maybe saves about 5 minutes?

Confession:  This drives me absolutely nuts!   And...I've been a lane-crasher myself.

The crazy thing is that this doesn't show up just in kids or traffic.   It shows up at work, when I want my boss to recognize me above my peers.  It shows up at home, when I think that Paul should do something instead of me.   Of course, when it's time for correction, I'm the first one to say "her fuhst".   It's so easy to think that sermon is for someone else, rather than accepting the truth about myself.    Of course, I'm probably the only one that ever does that.

What if we started spotting the "me fuhst" and quickly changing it to a "her fuhst" in all things good?  What if we stayed in our lane, and let others arrive at their destination first?   Would it be the end of the world?  

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 
^{Phil 2:3-4}