What makes you tick?

I recently saw an interesting quote. It said "Tell me what ticks you off and I'll tell you what makes you tick." So it got me thinking. And I wondered first of all if that were true, and second of all if it is true, then what is it that makes me tick? After considering many individuals I know, and also myself I think that while it may not always be true, there is definately truth to it. So what does that mean? What things make me tick?

I started thinking about what ticks me off. The first thing that came to mind was arrogance. Arrogant people are completely intolerable to me. I cannot stand someone who thinks more highly of themselves than others. I easliy lose patience with the guy who brags about how wonderful an athlete he is, how much money he makes, what kind of car he drives, how many girls he's dated, or how tough he is. Or the girl who brags about how pretty she is, how skinny she is, how popular she is.

So then I wondered why it is that arrogant people make me so angry. And I believe it's because it is such a blantant form of self-centeredness. Arrogant people care only for themselves. They are bent on glorifying themselves and do not care whom they hurt along the way.

As I thought about many other things that tick me off, I realized that they all come back to selfishness. In fact, I believe that selfishness is the true root of all evil. Other things that tick me off include injustice, abortion, laziness, neglect of children, dishonesty, disloyalty, people who interfere in others' relationships, people who cannot be faithful in their own relationships, hypocrites, the self-righteous, and even those Christians who believe that their salvation, forgiveness, etc is deserved or for their own benefit.

Nothing exists but for the glorification of God. His mercy to us, in our miserable selfishness, is not for out benefit, but for His glory. If we didn't spend so much time wrapped up in ourselves, if we pursued a life that glorified Christ, if we truely cared enough to really love others the way Christ would have no matter the cost to ourselves, if we stood against the injustice of the world as passionately as we promote ourselves, the world would be a much better place in which to live, and more importantly, God would be glorified.

This, the pursuit of these things, is what makes me tick.