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– What does the Bible say about selfishness
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Quotes:
If I am selfish I might have achieved great things,
but achieving great things out of my selfishness
is one of the most devastating ways I can think of to fail.
Craig D. Lounsbrough
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Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive.
It is a trait we hate in others but justified in ourselves.
Stephen Kendrick
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As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind,
so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.
Helen Keller
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If selfishness is the key to being miserable, then selflessness must be the key to being happy!
Joyce Meyer
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“Selfishness is when you only remember a friend if you need something from them.”
— Unknown
Understanding Selfishness
This YouTube Video is 5: 24minutes in length, below is the transcript)
we all know people who are selfish and self-centred
and we’re we’re that way ourselves more often than we like
one of the bitter by products of selfishness is that it undermines rich and satisfying relationships
so let’s take a biblical look at selfishness to try to understand this from God’s perspective
the first thing that we see is that
selfishness is that the root of sin
selfishness is at the heart of the Fallen human condition
ever since Adam and Eve we’ve been asserting ourselves
we’ve asserted that we know better than God
that we elevate what we think is right
and what we think is best
ahead of what God thinks and
whenever we break God’s law
essentially we’replacing our desires and our will
ahead of or prior to God’s will
and that in fact is the essence of sin
when we make ourselves rather than God the ultimate frame of reference for life
now that carries over into relationships as well
because it happens selfishness says that you know
we’re more important than other people
that we elevate ourselves to the ultimate point of reference with respect to those relationships
so we make our will
our opinions
our feelings
our comfort
our needs
our desires
we make them more important than the thoughts and opinions
the needs of the people around us and
that’s how selfishness becomes at the heart and the essence of sin
now there’s a lot of different words that describe selfishness
the English language has many different words for selfishness and
I think that testifies to the universal scope of this problem
just think in English we talk
about being arrogant
about being vain
self-conceited
about being self-centered
boastful
being proud
being hard-headed
big-headed
about being self-possessed
about being conceited
an egomaniac
ostentatiousbeing
presumptuous
of being boasting and
self-indulgent and
preoccupied with self
in so many different words that we use
now each one of those words has a different nuance
but they all point to this
of being absorbed with self
now the
Bible also has a lot of different words and
constructions that talk about this problem
it talks about being
arrogant
it talks about selfish ambition and
vain conceit
the Bible warns about being a lovers of ourselves and
pleasing ourselves
it talks about being self-seeking
or about seeking our own good
now when the Bible uses these different phrases
it never uses them in a positive way but
always as a by way of warning us and so with all these different vocabulary
it’s not surprising that selfishness takes shape in so many different ways
now we’re all familiar with people who are overtly selfish
they may
be rude
or pushy
or be very assertive about getting what they want
but others of us are more refined in our selfishness
we might be much more subtle about it and
use techniques
like guilt
or peer pressure
we might try to maneuver a situation to make it turn out the way we want it to turn out and
selfishness isn’t just about actions
it can be about what we don’t do
like leaving the dishes for somebody else to clean up
it can also be about our words like
when you say words without thinking about how they might affect the people who hear them
or like when you talk too much
or selfishness can also be about attitudes
maybe you give way to let somebody else have their way
but then you’re bitter and resentful
about it iny our heart
or maybe-you know-you don’t
when somebody else gets their way or
somebody else gets recognition then you get a bitter about that
you get pout
or you whine about that
you know
even people who serve can be infected with selfishness
sometimes our service is to draw attention to ourselves
or to make ourselves seem significant or
or people
to take-to take note of us
you know
even when you aren’t overtly trying to elevate yourself
then another form of selfishness
maybe just talking a lot about your own pain
or your own troubles
and so there’s a lot of different ways that we can be selfish that might seem good on the outside
but even doing good things can be tainted by the motive of selfishness
even when your serving and helping and investing time and energy
there can also be this subtle thing that that creeps in about being aware of how people notice you
or hoping you get attention
or hoping you get a favor for what you’ve done and so
I want us to be aware of selfishness in ourlives
I want us to be honest about looking in the mirror to see the different ways that we’re selfish
inside and out
because only then
can we allow the Holy Spirit to come and
bring the redemptive power of Jesus into our lives and into our hearts
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What The Bible Says About Selfishness
(This YouTube Video is 4:46 minutes in length, below is the transcript)
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
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Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests
but each of you to the interests of the others.
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No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
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For where you have envy and selfish ambition,
there you find disorder and every evil practice.
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If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need
but has no pity on them,
how can the love of God be in that person?
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For everyone looks out for their own interests,
not those of Jesus Christ.
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What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
You desire but do not have, so you kill.
You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
You do not have because you do not ask God.
When you ask,
you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
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And do not forget to do good and to share with others,
for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
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But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,
there will be wrath and anger.
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Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
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Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.
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Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
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Jesus answered,
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this,
he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
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The second is this:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.”
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So God said to him,
“Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself,
nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice,
I will do what you have asked.
I will give you a wise and discerning heart,
so that there will never have been anyone like you,
nor will there ever be.
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For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich.
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Let us not become conceited,
provoking and envying each other.
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If one of you says to them,
“Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,”
but does nothing about their physical needs,
what good is it?
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