In your life, there're different ways of living, and here're two examples:
Living by Wants
Many
live according to what they want in life. Wants can come from basic
needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter, or from other things desired in
life, such as comfort, health, love, pleasures, success, wealth, and many other
things in daily life.
Yes, in
life and living, there’re many wants, including the following: wanting alcohol
may result in AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder); wanting gambling can
happen to anyone from any walk of life, due to the fun that often turns into an
unhealthy obsession with many serious financial and relationship consequences;
wanting sex can lead to pornography, adultery, infidelity, and
extra-marital affairs; wanting money can cause greed and attachments to
material things; wanting hobbies can make life more interesting, such as
dancing, drawing, and singing; wanting sports can increase
physical and mental skills in competitive sports, such as football and soccer,
while wanting non-competitive sports, such as running and swimming, can be
exercises for physical health; wanting success in any endeavor, such as
careers and businesses, love and relationships, health and healing, can set
goals and objectives in life and living.
But
living by wants requires the means, that is, the money or the earnings
to make a living, without which it’s impossible to get the wants.
Unfortunately, many even without their means yet demand their wants, and thus
ending up in crimes, such as stealing and robbing.
Living by Personality
An ego
is self-identity. Many may have an inflated ego that gives them a
distinguished personality to live by. They believe they’re not only much better
but also totally different from others. Accordingly, others must succumb
to their demands and desires. They’ve become so self-centered that they’ll
continuously inflate their own ego with higher expectations while controlling
and demanding others to do what they want them to do for them.
An Illustration
Donald
Trump, with little discipline in childhood and
adolescence, came from a wealthy family with high expectations. He began
his own business in hotels and casinos. Unfortunately, he was labeled “public
laughingstock” due to his repeated business failures in several of his different
tumultuous business careers. But, with his self-inflated egoistic personality,
Donald Trump was still able to give the public “delusional” perception of his high-flying
success in real estate. He even started the Trump University, but that only ended
up in many lawsuits. The bankruptcy protection in the United States saved
Donald Trump from his own bankruptcy caused by all his business failures.
Donald Trump’s ego-self turned around sharply
and suddenly when he was elected the 45th President of the United
States. With that great boost to his already self-inflated ego, he thought he
could do just about anything to control everyone and everything around him. But
his inflated ego was severely compromised when he “unexpectedly” lost his
second-term presidency that led to many allegations of his conspiracy, insurrection, and plot to
illegally hold onto power to sustain his inflated ego.
On the other side of those with an inflated
ego are those living with a deflated ego. They often feel inadequate,
incompetent, insecure, and even unloved. Their perceived low self-esteem often
originates from an unhappy childhood with extremely critical and demanding
parents, as well as from their own ongoing life events, such as career and
relationship failures and problems.
An
illustration
Paris Hilton is
the great-granddaughter of the founder of the famous Hilton Hotels. Being given
the nickname of “Star” by her mother and grandmother, and growing up in fame
and prestige, she began her modeling career at any early age. Due to her own
demand for celebrity status and media attention, Paris also began her other
careers in books, music, and screen appearances. Her book “Confessions of An
Heiress” was on the New York Times’s
bestseller list; her role in the film “The House of Wax” earned her The Teen
Choices Award.
But Paris Hilton always
thought that she was “less successful” than others. Her “deflated ego” and her
envy of those who were “more successful” than she was led to her continual
pursuit in music and television shows, such as “The World According to Paris,”
and “Hollywood Love Story.” Feeling being a mediocre, she was always envious of
those who she thought were more successful than herself. Throughout her different
careers, she was haunted by the sin of pride and the sin of envy. The Guinness World Record in 2007 named Paris Hilton
“the most overrated celebrity.” According to the media, she was “the worst
actress of the decade.”
The Bottom Line
Living by faith, you live with
humility and not pride if you’ve an inflated ego; you live with simplicity to
give you confidence, hope, and strength if you’ve a deflated ego.
Living by faith, you believe that God has given you your true self
destined by Him to live a life of humility and simplicity.
Living By Faith shows you how
to live your life in this material world with real-life examples.
Stephen Lau
