SELFISHNESS

I’m not my own

Bought at a price

By the King of kings 

Who gave His life

'"My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’” —John 4:34 

 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13

This chapter sums up my song “I Surrender”. Fear, distraction, and control can all boil down to a form of selfishness.

No matter how much we don’t want to believe it’s true, we always find ways to look out for ourselves, ol’ me first. What if we really did live a life free of fear, clear of distractions, and out of control in Christ, living to show people love? What if, regardless of social status, race, or background, we ran freely showing love, knowing not everyone was born into the same status, not everyone has the same abilities and not everyone always has a great day, and we truly walked intentionally looking to make someones day better? That’s the world I want to live in. 

Another thing to remember is that selfishness can also take the form of us not seeing our own shortcomings and only focusing on what others do wrong or have done against us. We’re afraid of looking in the mirror and are quick to point fingers because it makes us feel better about our failings. I believe this world would be incredibly different if we quit pointing fingers at others and started pointing the finger at ourselves, constantly pushing ourselves to show love to others and remember that Jesus’ love extends further and wider than our world views usually allow it to. Let’s together try to make the world a better place. We know that it only starts with Jesus, remembering His promise and walking through scripture to help keep us motivated for things that are true and purposeful. But then….it takes action. Us living those things out. So let's try to do that this year. Surrender those areas of your life that cloud the way we should see people and make room for things in our life that our important like peace, purpose, and love.

Let’s surrender thinking of ourselves first. Let’s surrender the things that cloud the way we see others. When we surrender these things to God, we can make room for love and forgiveness in our lives. 

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” —Philippians 2:3

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." —Mark 12:30-31