One of the ways to recognise narcissism within ourselves is to notice when we have not yet accepted the field, the sphere of action, that God has given us—the opportunities and the limits of life in this body, this community, this set of relationships … this place where we have been called by God to serve. Narcissistic leaders are always looking longingly at someone else’s field as somehow more worthy or more indicative of success. They are always pushing the limits of their situation rather than lovingly working the field they have been given. … Our unwillingness to live within limits—both personally and in community—is one of the deepest sources of depletion and eventual burnout. That’s the bad news.
(Ruth Haley Barton, quoted in Disappearing Church by Mark Sayers, p.136)
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...[and] mind your own business..." 1 Thess. 4:11
