I Think I’ll Go Eat Worms!

Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame. (Jeremiah 20:18 NLT). 

Many of us remember a silly song from childhood that was sung mockingly to someone who was pouting or feeling sorry for himself:

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,

I think I’ll go eat worms.

Big, fat, juicy ones, itsy-bitsy, fuzzy ones,

See how they wiggle and squirm.

The absurdity of the lyrics makes us laugh, but the reality to which it points is not funny at all. Eating worms is hardly a remedy for self-pity and yet each of us can identify with the insanity that characterizes those who are preoccupied with their own misery, embedded waist-deep in the muck and mire of morbid self-absorption. Although there is certainly a place for the healthy expression of discouragement, the Scriptures warn us of the dangers that come to those who woefully obsess over their own misfortunes. The Bible offers numerous examples of the harmful effects of self-pity. 

For example, Moses feels so sorry for himself because of the abusive treatment he is receiving from the people he is trying to lead, that he wants to die. He takes the art of belly-aching to a whole new level when he shouts at God: “What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?... The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me.” (Num. 11:11-15 NLT).

And Jeremiah is so discouraged over his wretched lot in life that he lashes out at God: “You have deceived me,” he shouts (Jer. 20:7). And on another occasion, he mumbles to himself: “Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame” (Jer. 20:18 NLT).

Jonah would serve well as a case study for a Ph.D. dissertation on self-pity. After preaching to the Ninevites, he is so upset at their repentance and God’s forgiveness, that he sulks, “O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jon. 4:3). We can sense God’s anger when He reminds Jonah of his own deliverance from the belly of the great fish. God asks, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” (Jon. 4:4 NLT. Emphasis added).   

But it is the prophet Elijah who gets the Nobel Prize for self-pity. When the wicked queen Jezebel vows to kill him, he runs away to hide in a desert cave where he curls up in a fetal position of self-absorbed misery. I can almost hear him singing to himself: “Nobody likes me, everybody hates me….” The Lord interrupts his pity party, however, with a twice-repeated question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:9, 13). Twice, the prophet makes a lame effort to justify his self-pity.

I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too. (I Kings 19:10, see v. 14 NLT).

The Lord listens to Elijah’s complaint, and then reminds him that there is yet more work for him to do. He tells the pouting prophet that his math is all wrong. He is not the only righteous person left in Israel as he morosely imagines. There are still seven thousand other men and women who have not bowed the knee to Baal (see I Kings 19:18). 

As we look at these tragicomic examples of self-pity in the Bible, we discover not only the sinfulness of woebegone self-absorption, but its absurdity. Eating worms just makes things worse! Self-pity is a deadly condition that threatens both soul and body and results in a long series of tragic consequences:

• Distorted vision. Self-pity makes it impossible to perceive reality as it truly is. Everything is exaggerated. Everybody hates me. Worms look delicious. 

• Blame and accusation. The person obsessed by her own misery instinctively looks for someone to blame – especially God. She finds morbid pleasure in seeing herself as a victim. 

• Giving oneself a pass on moral standards. The person consumed with self-pity justifies his morbid temperament, isolation, and anger by seeing himself as somehow exempt from God’s moral law. Others should be Christlike in their actions, but not me. My disgusting  behavior is perfectly excusable. 

• Isolating. Those who wallow in self-pity typically retreat from all social contacts and find a pit where they can “enjoy” their pity party and eat worms.

• Toxicity. Pitying oneself is like drinking sea water; it’s poison to the system. The more you drink, the worse your torment. What’s more, the misery is contagious and spreads to others so that morbid self-absorption begins to characterize the entire family, church, and nation!

Is it any wonder that, down through the ages, God’s saints have consistently warned about the dangers of self-pity? For example, Oswald Chambers had this to say: 

"No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it obliterates God and puts self-interest upon the throne…. Self-pity is of the devil, if I go off on that line I cannot be used by God for his purpose in the world." (My Utmost for His Highest. May 16 and November 10). 

So, the next time you are tempted to throw yourself a pity party and binge on worms, pause, take a deep breath, and pray. Words from the book of Lamentations can help you know what to say. Written when God’s people found themselves in horrific circumstances, these words will prime the pump.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,“therefore I will hope in him.”The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

(Lam. 3:21-26).

Print Blog

1 Numerous versions of this song indicate its origin is uncertain.