“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.” Psalms 112:1-5 ESV
If I am honest with myself, I would say that one of things that I struggle with the most is selfishness. And I think that most men would say the same thing at different times in their lives. Sometimes I wonder if I could win an induction to the hall of fame for selfishness.
There is also a kind of man that truly doesn't care about anyone other than himself, regardless of their situation. However, I think that truthfully this sort of man is a rare creature but he is out there.
If I treat selfishness like an apple and peel it down to the core, I find that most selfish behaviors that I exhibit are born from one root cause, fear. I have learned in my life that most times selfish behavior is actually fear, the fear of not getting what you want or feel you deserve, in disguise. That fear will motivate you and I to manipulate situations and those around you. Regardless of how my actions affect other people, this fear will cause me to act selfishly because I am more concerned about the outcome rather than the people that are closest to me.
This is insecurity at its worst. Something I know all too well. It is something that I have lived with for most of my life and sad to say, something I struggle to master every day.
The selfishness born of fear always comes back to my doubts about the sovereignty of God. If I believe God will always take care of me, then I will be free to place others ahead of myself because I trust that He will always give me more than I need. Sometimes this is easier said than done. But when I look the eyes of the Father, to one that has already placed His life secondary to mine, I can give myself over to the freedom that only God can bring.
There is also a kind of man that truly doesn't care about anyone other than himself, regardless of their situation. However, I think that truthfully this sort of man is a rare creature but he is out there.
If I treat selfishness like an apple and peel it down to the core, I find that most selfish behaviors that I exhibit are born from one root cause, fear. I have learned in my life that most times selfish behavior is actually fear, the fear of not getting what you want or feel you deserve, in disguise. That fear will motivate you and I to manipulate situations and those around you. Regardless of how my actions affect other people, this fear will cause me to act selfishly because I am more concerned about the outcome rather than the people that are closest to me.
This is insecurity at its worst. Something I know all too well. It is something that I have lived with for most of my life and sad to say, something I struggle to master every day.
The selfishness born of fear always comes back to my doubts about the sovereignty of God. If I believe God will always take care of me, then I will be free to place others ahead of myself because I trust that He will always give me more than I need. Sometimes this is easier said than done. But when I look the eyes of the Father, to one that has already placed His life secondary to mine, I can give myself over to the freedom that only God can bring.
Comments
Post a Comment