My pastor,
Seye Kosoko, has always said that selfishness is one of the very biggest
challenges of believers today but I never really gave it much thought until
recently and now agree completely. It indeed is one of the biggest challenges facing
today’s believers, at least in my own environment where the question is often “what
is in it for me.” That used to be the language of the unbeliever but is now the
attitude and mindset of the believers. At least the unbelievers say it upfront but
the believers pretend not to think it but have it at the back of their minds and
are guided by it. We all now have our own agenda which overrides every other
thing including God’s desire in committing assignments to us. I think our level
of selfishness must be reducing the devil’s stress level because a selfish
person will eventually self-destruct, if they don't stop themselves, and destroy
other people as well; and they will achieve all this evil without meaning to
cause harm. They were only “looking out for themselves” and didn't realize the
extent of damage that selfishness can cause. The truth is, selfishness, simple
as it sounds, will cause people to finally end up in hell. It is a very subtle
way of exalting one's self above all others, including God. God demands to be
loved above all else. Until we learn to love God above all others
including ourselves, I don't think we can ever be true believers assured of
heaven.
Mathew 22: 37 – 40 “Jesus replied, “You must
love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. A
second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law
and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
I found
several different interpretations for the word "selfish" in the
dictionary but the ones I liked the most are "Concerned chiefly or
excessively with oneself, and having little regard for others or
showing or arising from an excessive concern with oneself and a lack of
concern for others." The truth is we should love ourselves otherwise we
won’t be able to love others whom God has asked us to love as ourselves; but we
must then truly love others as ourselves and love God above even ourselves. We
can't submit to God if we don't love Him enough to do so which would mean
loving Him above ourselves. Abraham must have loved God above himself to give
up that which meant the most to Him in life. Our love for ourselves must become
secondary when it comes against our love for God; hence the believers of old
could give themselves to be burnt for Christ. They only had one agenda,
God’s agenda. God expects us to love Him enough to loose ourselves and lives
only to find it all again totally complete in Him. This releases us from
selfishness. When life is ultimately about us and what makes us happy or is
convenient for us notwithstanding the consequence of our action on others then
we are of all people most selfish.
Colossians 2: 10 “So you also are complete
through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Self never
ceases to desire to be loved above all else. Our flesh/self, desires to be
noticed and to be in control of things at all times. It can only lure one
toward selfishness. Selfishness operates subtly sometimes and at other times,
boldly; but whichever way it chooses to operate, self is self. The fact that one
selfish person appears gentle does not change the fact of them being selfish. People have
several different arguments for being selfish but no excuse is good
enough reason to self-destruct. Some people think they are not selfish because
they have learnt to manage themselves less aggressively but you lie to
yourself. You are most likely worse than the serpent, you have learnt to deal
wisely which in truth is being crafty. For some others, they actually self-deceive
because they feel like they are so nice and helpful to others but you always have
a selfish purpose hidden in your heart for all that goodness. If for example, you
give just because you want to receive, you are selfish. If you make sacrifices
with the ultimate goal of getting your secret desire, it is selfishness and
wickedness. Sometimes it is best to let people know upfront the price for the
kindness you show them so they can decide whether or not it is a price they
want to pay. At least be fair. Whether the fact of your selfish agenda is revealed
or hidden, please deal with it and that will take confronting yourself because no
one may want to tell you and it is not their job to do so. They do not owe it
to you. If they do, appreciate them.
Mark 10: 21 “Looking at the man, Jesus felt
genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him.
“Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Selfishness
will make it difficult to give up all even for God so God is consistently
trying to help us deal with it. The rich young man in the scripture above
discovered he was selfish only after his discuss with Christ. God says those who
love Him will obey His instructions/commands. I found that to be true because I
realize that when one truly loves, their desire is to please the one they love.
You don't need rules and regulations to please someone you sincerely love, you
just become sensitive to them and their needs and instinctively work to please
them and it is pleasurable to you to do so. No wonder God says in this new
dispensation, His laws will be written in our hearts and His Spirit will teach
us all things. In other words, His words are enclosed in our love for Him which
fills our hearts. The truth is there is no loving God without yielding to Him
and it is to the extent that one loves Him that one submits to Him. No matter
how much one desires to be yielded to God, at the point where your love runs
out, the things of God then begin to recede in our hearts when compared to the
things we love and desire to do personally. When the love for God runs out, the
love for self takes over which then opens a door to use by satan.
No comments:
Post a Comment