Ego

I think I kind of know what the ego is.  Is it good.  Is it bad?  Part of God's plan?

Dallas Willard in The Great Omission describes Living in the Vision of God as being void of us "carrying the load" and that "our ego is not involved in any way."

I think it's disingenuous to think that our need to achieve and contribute and to matter doesn't enter into the equation.  Maybe ideally it shouldn't.

Or maybe by God's design it should.  

Harold Kushner describes our self image as an out-of focus photograph, two slightly blurred images instead of one clear one.  "Much of our lives, much of our energy will be devoted to closing the gap between the longings of our soul and the scoldings of our conscience, between the too-often conflicting needs for assurance of knowing that we are good and the satisfaction of being told that we are important," he writes in Living a Life that Matters.

So as you lead in discipleship: is your ego involved?  Is your work the work of two blurry images or are you trying to leave your ego out?  

Which approach works better for you?