Were I to create a short list of people who live from the outside in, it would include people who don't know what their political beliefs are until they've read their favorite political columnist; don't know what books they want to read until Oprah tells them; don't know how to decorate for Christmas until Martha Stewart directs them; don't know what to believe until their denomination tells them; don't know what to wear until they have consulted a fashion guru; don't know how to respond to the controversial issues of the day until they check their windsocks to see which way the breeze is blowing. 

People with this pattern are like submarines cruising through life at periscope depth and they will not come to the surface until they have surveyed the surrounding territory, making sure that their emergence will occur within optimal conditions for safety from others they perceive to be potentially menacing critics. 

Living life from the outside in we have all been there at one point or another in our journeys. And when we are accurately so described, we are the same folks Jesus had in mind when he talked about people who have gained the whole world, but forfeited their lives. 

We've gotten it backwards, Jesus says. Instead, turn matters inside out and live from the inside out.