One of the things we notice about small children is their lack of awareness of when they are being selfish. They don’t understand that the world does not revolve around them and their every want. Being selfless is something that needs to be taught and practiced, and does not come naturally to anyone. It is so easy to fall into a pattern of selfishness, especially when things are going particularly well in our lives at the current moment. When things are going well, we tend to think that we deserve it, and it leaves us wanting more for ourselves. We want to keep things exactly the way they are. This can be especially true when we are forced outside of our comfort zone. We are so quick to say, “Nope, I will not do this or do that”, and we always have an excuse or reason for why we can’t. Sometimes those reasons can be legitimate, but there are some instances where we are selfishly holding on to the things we want, instead of letting go of those things to find what we truly need. The only one who can help us see these things clearly is the Holy Spirit.
God had revealed something like this to me just last week, which is why I felt so compelled to write about it this week. When we fall into these selfish patterns, it can be so hard to see that we are doing it. When we are living for our little kingdom of self, rarely do we stop on our own and say, “You know what, I am being selfish. I need to stop doing the things that I am currently doing and change them to be more focused on Christ”. If we were able to see this all on our own, we would never need any other believers looking out for us! But that can be exactly one of the tools the Holy Spirit uses to get through to us when we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don’t even notice the behaviors we have begun to exhibit.
The Holy Spirit can work on his own in your heart to bring you to these realizations, but he can also use the people in your life whom you love and trust to open your eyes. From my situation that I mentioned above, the Holy Spirit used my husband as the vessel to reveal this to me. We started out the conversation with me trying to share with him something I felt like he could work on, but as we began to talk and share there were things that were revealed to me that I needed to work on as well. The one thing to truly remember though, is that the Holy Spirit does the work to reveal your sin to you, but it is your responsibility to confess of those things and work towards repentance.
One of the things I like to do when faced with a pattern of sin I have developed is take some private time to open up God’s word and read all about what it says on the specific sin I am dealing with. I want to stay focused on the topic of selfishness, since I think that is a pattern that we all too easily step into without realizing it. We all need these gentle reminders to look outside ourselves, and to make sure the right person is still on the throne of our hearts ruling our lives.
Scripture relating to selfishness:
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3)
“For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind” (James 3:16)
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other…” (Luke 16:13)
“For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic” (James 3:15)
If you need any more encouragement than that, just take a look at the life of Jesus. Nothing he ever did was selfish. He lived every moment of his life on earth selflessly. His whole mission for becoming man in the first place was selfless. He went to the cross in the most selfless act in all of human history. He left his heavenly kingdom to become like us, and suffer in a way that we could never comprehend, to restore our relationship with God and give us a way to be saved from our sins.
When we are feeling trapped by selfish desires, we only need to be reminded of the incredible sacrifice that Christ made for us. That should humble your heart and bring you to your knees, and remind you that Christ, not yourself, is the one truly worthy of worship and praise. The only one that deserves our devotion.
Have you been struggling with selfishness lately, like myself? If not, I am sure there was a time or times in your life where you have. It is very difficult for us as humans to not fall into this pattern at some point. If you are in that place today, I really encourage you to meditate on the scriptures shared above, as well as meditating on the death of Jesus and what that now means for you. Don’t let selfishness keep you trapped. Look to Christ and he will set you free.
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