Selfishness

III The Sin of Selfishness

1. What is the root of our selfishness? (See Genesis 3:1-6; Jeremiah 17:9; Hosea 6:7; Romans: 7:17:20; 8:6-7; Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 2:3)

Genesis 3:1-6 “Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, Except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?”

Hosea 6:7 “But they, like [less-privileged] men and like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt faithlessly and treacherously with Me.”

Romans 17:17-20 “However, it is no longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and has possession of me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.  Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [^[a]fixed and operating in my soul].”

Romans 8:6-7 “Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.”

Galatians 5:16-17 “But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God). For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.”

Ephesians 2:3 “Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind.”

The root of our selfishness is sin. We instinctively have a desire to protect and provide for and to please ourselves. It is why the phrase “you must first love yourself before you can love anyone else” speak drives me crazy….we already love ourselves way too much.

2. Which phrase in 2 Timothy 3: 1-2 describes a selfish person? Why is this so convicting?

II Timothy 3:1-2 “ But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.”

The phrase that describes a selfish person is “lovers of self and utterly self-centered’. It is convicting because I can see that I am and have been selfish and self centered. Especially in the areas Jerry identifies. He specifically points out areas such as our interests. As I have gone through this chapter I have seen that I am guilty of loving myself just a little too much. I am fearful of getting hurt again and so I keep most people at arms length. I am difficult to get close to and even once you get to know me I think the relationship is still kind of one sided. It is difficult to be my friend post clergy abuse I think, but it is something I am aware of and something I am working on.

3. Because time is precious, it’s easy to be selfish with it. What do the following verses reveal about sharing our time with others? (See Acts 9:36; Romans 16:2; Galatians 5:13; 6:2; I Thessalonians 5:14; Hebrews 6:10; I Peter 4:10)

Acts 9:36 “Now there was at Joppa a disciple [a woman] named [in Aramaic] Tabitha, which [in Greek] means Dorcas. She was abounding in good deeds and acts of charity.”

Romans 16:12 “Salute those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet my dear Persis, who has worked so hard in the Lord.”

Galatians 5:13 “For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.”

Galatians 6:2 “Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].”

I Thessalonians 5:14 “And we earnestly beseech you, brethren, admonish (warn and seriously advise) those who are out of line [the loafers, the disorderly, and the unruly]; encourage the timid and fainthearted, help and give your support to the weak souls, [and] be very patient with everybody [always keeping your temper].”

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name’s sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do.”

I Peter 4:10 “As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God’s many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the ^[extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor]”

It has been said we make time for what is important to US. I find this to be true in my own life. Each day is full of choices, and I make them according to my will, but as Jerry points out our TIME is a precious commodity, and it waits for no man.

Ephesians 5:15-16 says,“ Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.”

Elizabeth George, author of the book, A Woman After God’s Own Heart, said you must have a goal to aim at and shoot at it daily, you may miss the mark, but you MUST shoot. (my paraphrase) We are frail weak, sinful humans, but if we pursue God with our whole heart, He sees this, He honors this, He is glorified. It is a constant battle to say NO to ourselves, to choose others over self, but back to that early bible study teacher: She taught the only way I would EVER have true JOY would be to put:

Jesus

Others

Yourself

I’ve tried to implement this in my own life as well as the lives of my children, its been a good “formula” ;)

4. In contrast to someone who is inconsiderate—not thinking about how what he or she says or does affects other people—what does God say about being considerate? (See Titus 3:1-2; James 3:17)

Titus 3:1-2 “Remind people to be submissive to [their] magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work, To slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle, and conciliatory), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody.”

James 3:17 “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity).”

And let us not forget that Philippians tells us to treat others as MORE important than ourselves. There was a story on face book that I saw a while back that made me sad, because it spoke volumes about how many people view Christians. It was about a woman who was cursing and blowing her horn at a fellow driver on the road, a police officer came upon the scene and promptly arrested the woman. Even more upset at the police station the woman demanded to know the reason for her arrest, as she had broken no laws, and the officer informed her that he thought the car was stolen. You see the back of her car was covered in Christian bumper stickers, while she was behaving in a decidedly un-christ like manner. That’s not to say believers don’t ever act unbecoming, or sin, of course we do, but we need to me mindful of it when we do, and then go back and repent where we are able. Because like it or not our behavior DOES affect others, and likely for longer than we care to admit.

This has been a tough introspective look at my heart…no one likes to look in the mirror for too long, at least not to see their true nature staring back at them. I take heart though, that there has been growth through the years, one step forward, two steps back, like a danse macabre, which only serves to remind me of the fragility of this earthly life and how this is NOT my home, I was created for something better.

And so I leave you with my only hope…the song that has been in my heart as I have studied, your only hope as well, because it is in HIM ALONE we have the ability to overcome any of these sins we struggle with, and some day when we see Him face to face, we will finally be free of. All praise to Him, Amen?