I Care Too Much.. But I Don't Care Enough.

You know what my problem is? I care too much.
I care about what people think, I care about what is going on around me, I care about looking nice [or about the fat that sometimes I don't] I care about making people happy, I care about what I do and do not have.... I just care too darn much!!!!
You know what my other problem is? I don't care enough.
I don't care enough about what God thinks, about what He is doing around me, about who He created me to become, about pleasing Him, and doing what He tells me to do.
Our society today has become one of misplaced priorities. Our culture focuses on the "ME" instead of God, or other people. Our lives are centered around selfishness, what WE want, what WE are doing, and what affects US. Even the notorious Facebook has a "ME" centered layout. We can update our statuses to let people know what WE are thinking or doing. We can share videos WE think are funny. And I must post this for fairness and honesty's sake... WE can post OUR blogs filled with OUR thoughts.
When we focus on the ME, we lose sight of God, and other people. We forget to pray or read our Bible, we don't truly ask how people are doing, we stop giving our cares to God. We begin to walk around in our own little self-absorbed world, consumed with the worries we have stopped giving to God, determined to have OUR voice heard, and we lose sight of what matters. We become the living dead, just like in a zombie movie, but without all the brain-eating.
I have discovered that the more I focus OUTWARDLY instead of dwelling inwardly, the better I feel and the less problems I have. I don't worry as much, I remember to care about the people around me, and I find myself thanking God for all the little things in life that bring me joy - things I do not notice when I am in a self-absorbed coma state.
So I challenge you, my readers, to take 5 whole minutes out of your day today - that's right a whole 1/288-th of your day, and reflect. Count your blessings, talk to God, take a walk out in God's wonderful creation, or just simply sit quietly with your eyes closed. But during this time, don't dwell on a single thing that has to do with you or anything that affects you in any way. Any time a stressful conversation at work, or your never ending to-do list come up in your mind, immediately dismiss the thought. Think about how wonderful and beautiful the complexity of God's creation is. Thank Him for all your blessings. Pray for a friend. As long as you direct your attention away from yourself and place it on God.
We need to stop caring so much, and start caring more.