By Mike Chaffin
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:16
Selfishness is a vice but becomes sin when turned toward one’s own gain to the detriment of others. In an article recently published at https://hackspirit.com/selfish-people/ by Jude Paler, he lists fourteen things selfish people do. Chief among these is manipulation, scheming and plotting to help themselves instead of others.
The Apostle Paul was very blunt about the problem of selfishness. In Galatians 5 he contrasts the fruit of the spirit with the foul odor of the flesh.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Listed squarely in the middle of vices and sins is selfish ambition. It is a primary emotion the devil uses to lead us astray.
Charles Eliot, Harvard President from 1869-1909, believed in teaching a high moral standard along with the subjects’ students studied. He said, “Be unselfish. That is the first and final commandment for those who would be useful, and happy in their usefulness. If you think of yourself only, you cannot develop because you are choking the source of development, which is spiritual expansion through thought for others.”
This brings us back to the basics. Jesus boiled down all the commandments into two. The first, to love God with everything we have and are, and secondly to love others as ourselves, often written as the Golden Rule; “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Do we really want to create a circle of selfishness? I don’t think so.
Paul brings the argument to rest with this commonsense approach to the Christian life.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” Philippians 2:3
A common childhood trait is selfishness. It must be trained out of us, and when it isn’t we don’t mature into the man or women Christ died for. We are called to grow in maturity in Christ. The holy and Christlike nature we develop excludes selfish behavior.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to see any selfish ways in me. Open my eyes to the things I do that hurt others to better me so I can stop being selfish. In Jesus’ name, amen.
