Should You Be the Main Character?

One of the latest trends on the internet is being the Main Character in your life. (At least, I think it's recent. I don't keep up with trends much.) But I think there's some danger in this trend, and I want to talk about that today.

Being the Main Character or having main character energy is described as putting yourself first and investing in yourself. Basically, looking at your life as though you're the protagonist in a story, the one that matters most.

I hope you can already see one of the big problems with this. It's so selfish.

By casting yourself as the main character, you're saying that everyone is less important than you. You're looking at everyone else as a secondary character in your narrative. If we carry the metaphor even farther, does that mean you see someone as a villain in your story too?

It's so worrying to me. Every person you walk by on the street is someone with hopes, dreams, worries, and fears just like you. Just because you don't know who they are or what they dream of doesn't make them nothing but an extra in your life. God made every person on this planet special and unique and we need to remember that.

Investing in yourself, doing things that make you happy, and be proactive in your life aren't bad things. But they can become bad things if you put them before everything else, especially other people.

Another less noticeable problem with this trend is that it's prideful. By thinking of yourself as the main character, you're saying to everyone around you "you're less important than me".

God calls us to be humble, not prideful. To place other's needs before our own. Which is the complete opposite of "main character energy".

By constantly putting yourself first, you make everyone around you feel smaller. Which in turn might make them decide to put their needs first and ignore people around them and so on. It's a vicious cycle that only drives people apart.

God is so gracious by letting us be part of His most wonderful story. He's the real "main character" here, but rather than ignoring all us peons, He graciously listens to us, answers our prayers, and shows us love beyond all belief.

Anyway, all this long ramble was to make the point that I think "main character energy" is a toxic trend and should be avoided. And don't even get me started on the villain era trend. That could be a whole post on its own.

What are your thoughts on this trend? Tell me in the comments.