Starring in Our "My Feelings" Show

"We think too much about ourselves. We aren’t just selfish, we’re self-centered. We don’t just grab all the swag we can get our hands on, whether it’s money, praise, advantages in relationships, cheap thrills, or just slothful inertia. We think constantly about how much swag we’ve got or haven’t got. And the worst form of our self-centeredness is probably our petty, fussy, and narcissistic obsession with our own mental states. For some, that includes an obsession with our own opinions—carefully keeping track of what we think about everything. For others, it includes an obsession with the decisions we make. For example, some people are indecisive or fickle because that lets them wallow in the pleasure of being in control. While you’re in the process of making a decision you’re in a position of power, but that power is gone as soon as the decision is made.

"But almost all of us pay too much attention to our own emotions. We’re happy, we’re despondent, we’re in love, we’re lonely, we’re thrilled, we’re bored—we’re a bunch of drama queens. We’re each the star of our very own prime-time soap opera. True, my show’s audience is small, consisting only of God and myself. And the critics hate it—God is always giving my soap opera negative reviews, urging me to switch the channel and watch something else for a change. But in spite of all that, I just can’t help thinking everyone around me would really love my show if only I could get any of them to quit watching their shows (which are boring anyway) and watch mine instead. Besides, who cares what anyone else thinks—when I can simultaneously write, direct, and star in the My Feelings Show, why watch anything else? This attitude not only arises from our sinfulness, it perpetuates it…."

-- Greg Forster (2012-02-07). The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love  Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.