“For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.” (2 Corinthians 12:20 NLT)
What comes to mind when you think of selfishness? Do you see yourself as selfish? In Scripture selfishness is often seen as being self-promoting and speaks of one who is seeking office or a position who is drawing all eyes on themselves. We might also think of the idea of bragging, which can easily become an exaggeration of our qualities or characteristics.
The saddest dimension of selfishness, at least in my life, is that I too quickly take credit for that for which God or someone else should get the credit. Anything that distracts from Jesus or points people’s attention away from Him is being selfish in my mind.
Because we have a means of income, we’re tempted to take credit for what “our” money has bought. It’s “our” beautiful house, car, beach house, vacation, wardrobe, and on and on it goes. But the plot thickens when we begin to receive praise or recognition for that which we should be directing gratitude and praise to the Lord.
We so quickly forget that “our” mind, heart, physical ability, mental, emotional, relational, and financial resources are gifts from God. We would literally have nothing if the Lord hadn’t gifted us and equipped us to do what we do. And the sad reality is, we could lose everything in a heartbeat. We waste our life building monuments of praise to ourselves, but for what? Who gets them when we’re gone? They have zero value to us after we take our last breath, yet we burn ourselves out for more.
But, again, I think of all we might do for God’s Kingdom if we weren’t so invested in our own kingdom. Folks, our days are short and only what has eternal value should be at the top of our priorities. And, yes, of course, many have jobs and families and responsibilities, and I applaud that, I genuinely do, but where is Jesus in all of that?
If He’s not the center and focus of what we’re doing, it has little or no eternal benefit. Unless Jesus is calling the proverbial “shots,” at home, at work, at recreation, in every avenue and dimension of our lives, who is?
There is a quote attributed to Nelson Henderson that says: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Whether or not he knows the Lord, the theme of his quote is valuable and applicable to those of us who do profess faith in and love for our Savior. Not investing in people and ministries that will long outlive us is selfish.
My wife and I want to be responsible in contributing to the care of our granddaughter’s education and wellbeing, but we also want the Lord to be honored in our death by being as generous as possible with our church family. It’s a common assumption that churches have a lot of money to spare, and I’m confident a few do, but the majority of churches, at least the ones I’ve been a part of, have not been able to carry out effective ministry in our communities because of lack of funds.
If you’re a child of God, please spend time alone with the Lord, opening your heart and mind, listening to His voice in directing you to do a self-evaluation, especially in the area of your finances. “You can’t take it with you” is an accurate phrase on some levels, as it relates to money, but the truth is, we can send it ahead by investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls who may never hear the name of Jesus if we don’t invest in those who are diligently seeking to take His Name to the ends of the earth.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 