A Selfish Person 8/14/2023

 Good Morning,

I started this day fairly early and I am enjoying a hot cup of Door County Cream Coffee as I write.

I promised yesterday that we would talk about selfishness which I believe attacks the heart and souls of many men and women. The Bible has a few things to say about being selfish and the writings are pretty harsh. Many disputes are started because of selfishness that lives within the hearts of men and women. The disputes fester and progress into feelings of despair, anger and hatred. Unchecked the emotions that go along with being selfish can actually impact physical health due to the anxiety felt by those involved. 

First I would like to say this. A selfish person is hard to live with. They want things their way, on their time and are sometimes unpredictable. A selfish person gets very upset when they miss a chance to be selfish. They turn up the fire when they think they could have had something their way and they missed out on that chance. Secondly the act of being selfish often leads to mistruths being told, so as to justify the need to have things on their schedule and their way. 

James 3:16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. 

Romans 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking, and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 

Proverbs 18:1 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgement starts quarrels. 

One way to check to see if you have selfish traits is to listen to yourself. In your speech do you often say my, mine, me or I when referring to items. You are married and you might say "my house, my car, my kids," and you rarely refer to the home as "our home, our kids, our car". Do you rarely accept blame for issues within the marriage, or are you quick to point out the faults of others, deferring issues to their shoulders? You might be a selfish person with a selfish heart. 

Tomorrow we will explore the solution to a selfish heart. For today, do some soul searching and see if there be any of it in you. How do you measure up?

Marty