SELFISHNESS
is a very little world inhabited by one person! Some enlarge
that world and allow three persons. Their names? I, Myself and Me.
In the fall
of man (when Adam and Eve sinned) man’s spirit, meant by God to worship and commune with God Himself, fell within man making it ‘natural’ to worship self. And, so, self-centeredness comes easily.
It can be so
chronic that what a Sunday School teacher once related illustrates the point:
She said, “A child who had just heard the story of the Good Samaritan was
asked, ‘What does it teach you?’ The child responded, ‘That when I’m in
trouble, someone should help me’”
In
regeneration (the new birth) the spirit of man is restored to its rightful place and man can
again glorify God. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
One of the
intents of God’s saving grace is to pull us out of our innate self love. In its place we are to love God preeminently. And then, He enjoins us to love others as ourselves.
Jesus said, “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself” Mark 12:31. Notice, He didn’t say NOT to
love self. We are to respect the fact we are made in God's image, uniquely so. We must care for ourselves, defend ourselves, discipline ourselves and give ourselves to causes greater than ourselves. But Christ instructs us to love others at least equally.
A humorous
ad in a newspaper said, “Farmer, age 38, wishes to find a wife, age 30, who
owns a tractor. Please send a picture of the tractor.” We laugh. The
world functions pretty much in this manner. How will it benefit me? What will I get
out of it?
The life
Christ puts within each believer is totally opposite. Love puts God and
others first. When the Holy Spirit controls us, He makes it happen! "The fruit of the Spirit is love...."
Dick D. Christen
Dick D. Christen
