Selfish or Selfless
Back in 2013, the word of the year was “selfie”. It seems with the advent of the smart phone and even some of the latest flip phones, we have fallen in love with taking our own picture.
The word selfie makes me think of the character from Greek mythology named Narcissus.
Narcissus was so beautiful that everyone who saw him fell in love with him. He was proud, in that he disdained those who loved him.
Nemesis noticed this behavior and attracted Narcissus to a pool, where he saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it, not realizing it was merely an image.
Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus lost his will to live. He stared at his reflection until he died. Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism, a fixation with oneself and one's physical appearance. (Wikipedia)
Now I’m not saying that everyone who takes a selfie is a narcissist. Taking a picture of yourself has been the cool thing to do for several years now.
But declaring selfie the word of the year speaks to a deeper problem within our society.
The idea of looking out for number one or being self-absorbed is nothing new. If you look at the root cause of the fall of man, selfishness played a major role.
Genesis 3:6 says when Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was “to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit and did eat it.”
Satan appealed to her vanity, her yet undiscovered narcissistic nature, and it has been downhill for the human race ever since.
We live in a society that still panders to this basic nature of selfishness.
It’s a known fact that advertising works. If the hunting company that I worked for didn’t advertise they would have gone out of business.
The goal of our advertising was to convince the hunter that the only way he would be successful on the hunt was if he used our products.
If the hunter did not desire to be successful, we would have nothing to tempt him with.
Why does a hunter desire the biggest buck in the woods? Certainly not for the meat, doe meat tastes much better than buck.
Some desire the personal satisfaction of being a good hunter. But if that were the only desire, taxidermists would go out of business.
After being around, and working with, some of the most successful hunters in north America, I think I can say with authority that much of what they do is for bragging rights.
Get five of these guys in a room together and within ten minutes it is a contest to see who can tell the biggest hunting story.
So our advertising appealed to the hunters desire to be successful, and the majority of the time, his desire for success is driven by his desire for recognition (for the trophy hunter).
Just take a close look at most advertising today and you will see at its core is the self-interest of the customer.
From McDonalds “you deserve a brake today” to Cadillac’s “you deserve to ride in luxury”, advertising appeals to the ego.
When I was taking psychology classes in college, one of the clinical terms that stuck in my head was “ego centric,” the idea that the world revolves around you.
No offence to any of our youth, but this phenomenon is most prominent in teenagers. However, most people tend to grow out of it by their mid to late 70’s.
Most, if not all, of the ills of society can be traced back to a selfish heart. Murder, robbery, cheating, abortion, rudeness, and on and on…
The sad truth is that a sinful fallen world panders to this nature within all of us. So what is the solution for selfishness, how do we deal with a self-centered world?
Well, the opposite of selfish is selfless.
The most selfless act in the history of the world happened a little over 2000 years ago. Jesus, the son of God, co-equal with God, the person through which the entire universe was created and is sustained, willingly stepped down from the right hand of God the Father to be born in a stable and laid in a feeding trough.
In a world that is and was totally self absorbed, Jesus, the Christ, became the most selfless person throughout all of God’s creation.
Then he went on to live a selfless life, teaching His followers to be servants of each other. Jesus teaches us that, “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” Matt 20:26
It won’t be long before you start seeing Christmas advertisements. Some of the stores like Hobby Lobby probably already have Christmas trees out in the front of their store. I sometimes wonder what happened to Halloween and Thanks Giving…
Christmas should be a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. This should also be a time of great reflection upon the selflessness of Jesus.
As a child growing up, I know that the most frequently asked question as we approached Christmas was not “do you know what God did for you” but rather “what are you getting for Christmas.”
Isn’t it amazing how we have taken a day that should be a celebration of selflessness and turned it into an orgy of selfishness?...
I’m not saying you in particular, but our society in general.
Our Government, which was founded on Christian principals and Christian ethics, seems to be bound and determined to remove Christ from all public discourse.
For the life of me, I will never wrap my head around a government push to eradicate a religion that promotes peace and love of you fellow man.
Year after year since 1962, the liberal left in our society has pushed to remove Jesus from any public dialogue and as they have done this, it has been my observation, that we have become a more self-centered, self-indulgent, self-absorbed people.
As we enter our holiday season, Thanks Giving will center on what “we” are thankful for, not our “thanks to God” and once again there will be a deliberate attempt to remove Christ from Christmas and keep the emphasis on giving and receiving gifts.
What’s even more comical to me is that the liberal left think they can remove any religious context from our days of celebration by changing the names.
We won’t say Christmas season, we will say Holiday Season. The word Holiday is a combination of two words, Holy and Day.
What makes a day Holy? Is it now what God did for us on any given Holy Day we celebrate? Easter isn’t about rabbits or eggs or candy or Easter baskets, it’s about what God did for us on that day.
Thanks Giving isn’t about being thankful for our stuff or even our family, its about God’s provision and deliverance.
Christmas isn’t about giving useless gifts or even family, it’s about what God did for us when He selflessly came to live among us.
So, how should we respond to this singular act of selflessness?
Well, we can start by acknowledging the great gift that God gave us on that Holy Day. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. Jn 3:16
What form does that acknowledgment take? 1. I can deny it ever happened, 2. I can ignore it, or 3. I can accept it and receive the gift that is offered by God.
We know what denying it or ignoring it looks like. It manifests itself in a selfish, self-absorbed, sinful world that only cares for me and mine and no more.
But what does accepting God’s gift look like in our lives?
Becoming a follower of Christ means we take on the attributes of Christ, that it, we exhibit the nature of Jesus in our everyday lives.
Let me ask you a serious question, do your friends, family, and coworkers see you as selfish or selfless?
Are you the same with your family as you are with your friends?
I have seen people treat their families in the most rude and disrespectful manner and yet they would never speak or act that way to friends or coworkers.
Then there are others who are gentle and kind at home, but are heartless monsters at work.
If we are to be followers of Christ, then we are to treat others as Christ did. Jesus said we are to “lover our enemies,” and “do good to those who use you and persecute you.”
He said if you want to be great you must be a servant. His selfless act of coming to this world is an example for all of us to follow.
Jesus has a servant’s heart; He demonstrated this in His obedience to the Father, by His willingness to come to earth in the helpless form of a baby some 2000 years ago.
He showed His humanity when He washed the disciple’s feet. He showed His total obedience on the cross of Calvary.
So the question is, are you willing to let Jesus give you a servant’s heart? Will this Holiday season be marked by your selflessness?
Are you willing to humble yourself and be more concerned about the needs of others over and above your own needs and desires?
Are you willing to be obedient to the call of the Holy Spirit on your life?
I have had people in my previous churches approach me with a complaint that they weren’t being blessed or didn’t feel they were being spiritually fulfilled.
Anytime someone makes that type of statement to me, my first question to them is, “have you been a blessing to others?”
If we are to be blessed and spiritually satisfied, we must begin by seeking out opportunities to be a blessing to others.
Our primary focus as believers should be on the selfless act of Christ and our secondary focus should be our desire to be like Jesus, to be a servant and a blessing to others.
What can you do to make a difference in your life and the lives of those you interact with on a day to day basis? You can start by acknowledging the selflessness of Christ, the humility of Christ, and the obedience of Christ.
Meditate on the infinite love of God the Father that would compel Him to send His one and only Son to a fallen world.
Accept the greatest gift ever offered to mankind, forgiveness and reconciliation to God the Father through the humble Servant, Jesus the Christ.
And finally, go forth into a world that is self-absorbed and actually demonstrate the selfless servant’s heart that seeks salvation for sinners all.
Be the man or woman that God has called you to be. Be obedient and take up you cross every day.
Show your family, friends, and coworkers the truth of who Christ is.
Live you faith, seek to serve, and be obedient.
And you will be blessed.
