A nationwide survey has found that 24% of college students showed elevated levels of narcissism. That's compared with 15% in the early 1990s.

According to some onlookers, that's just fine. Narcissists may be obnoxious, they say, but they're good for business. Why? Because the confidence that narcissists have lets them take needed risks that others would resist. Also, with companies needing to innovate to stay ahead, narcissists are good at selling bold ideas to a skeptical old guard.

So is it time to let this new Me generation take charge? Well, maybe not. There are some downsides. For instance, narcissists rarely acknowledge that they're wrong—and there's no doubt that they can be wrong. Some of the bold ideas they foist on management may lead down the proverbial primrose path to destruction. And narcissists can be very difficult to live and work with.

So what are we to do—sit on our hands while the rest of the world eats our lunch? Nope. All of us, no matter what our age, can be part of a new-old Me generation—one that has nothing to do with narcissism and everything to do with God and goodness for everyone.

He may not be everyone's idea of a top CEO, but the Old Testament figure Moses shows the way. He discerned that God is the I AM (see Ex. 3:14)—the very source of our identity. It took some nudging from his divine source, but Moses came to understand that he could confidently express God, understand His will for good, and bring good to an entire nation of people. There was nothing narcissistic about it; Moses was at first quite the unwilling leader. But his love of God and his people propelled him. He knew it wasn't any personal ability that allowed him to accomplish what he did; he knew God was right there with him and was the real power. Was Moses taking a risk by leading the Hebrews out of Egypt? No, he knew he and the others were being led by God, and there's no risk in that. And good was the outcome for all of them.

Christ Jesus was no narcissist either. He knew that God was the source of his ability. He once told his disciples that "the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." He then continued, "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake" (John 14:10, 11). Like Moses, he knew that God is the source of our identity; we live in Him. As Paul later put it, ". . . in him [God] we live, and move, and have our being . . ." (Acts 17:28). All these fellows knew that they could do what they did because they followed God's guidance and expressed Him, and this resulted in goodness.

Like them, we too can understand that we have our source in God and reflect all His goodness. This keeps us away from self-love—a good thing, since self-love can only muddy the waters for everyone. As Mary Baker Eddy puts it in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 242), "Self-love is more opaque than a solid body." This doesn't rule out a proper love for ourselves. As Jesus said, we should love our neighbors—and that means everyone—as ourselves (see, for instance, Matt. 22:39). We love ourselves and others properly when we see all of us as having our identity in God—as wholly spiritual and good. No matter what the details of our days may be, we can do our best to keep everyone's spiritual, God-given identity foremost in our thoughts. This is the way to actively love God, ourselves, and our neighbors—a love that results in good for all mankind.

Moses, Jesus, and other prophets and apostles realized that God is the one Ego. They were part of a Me generation that rejected mortal ego for the divine. As a result, they were able to accomplish great good for untold numbers of people. Every one of us can be part of that Me generation today. All it takes is putting off a limited mortal and material sense of ourselves and putting on our inherent spiritual identity, recognizing that we really do "live, and move, and have our being" in God. This way, we can help our families, our neighbors, our businesses—in fact, everyone and everything in the range of our thought.

This is a Me generation we can live with.

Link
The Boston Globe Magazine — "The New Me Generation"