“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8:35, NLT)
It’s the last full week of October. Shockingly, the Christmas decorations have been for sale in the stores for two weeks at least. The holiday stock seems to come out earlier and earlier! I also was informed by a good friend that Hallmark Channel began to run Christmas movies last week! In another sign of this early Christmas rush, several stores have put out special “Holiday” sales brochures with sales listed for every week until Christmas! In the middle of October!
While recovering from minor foot surgery last week, I could not wear shoes. For several days, I had to keep off my feet as much as possible and do no exercise. With nothing to do one afternoon, I turned on the TV. Lo and behold, “A Christmas Carol” was showing in the middle of October! This movie is based on the novel written by Charles Dickens in 1843. It chronicles the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is an interesting character. He is very wealthy, yet absolutely miserable. While thoroughly enjoying counting his money, he excoriates the poor and rejects anything that would make him part with his money. As I watched the movie, I was reminded that Scrooge was bitter, resentful, miserly, angry, overbearing, cruel, and more. All terrible qualities. Scrooge thought he was happy with is wealth, but his love of wealth sucked the life out of his relationships, friendships, and work environment.
It was obvious that the more selfish and self-absorbed Scrooge became, the more miserable and isolated were the days of his life.
You might think, “This is just a novel. It is over exaggeration!” Is it? Like Charles Dickens, I have found that those who become wrapped up in themselves drive good people away. They usually are not surrounded by friends but by those who are out for something. Their self-centered ways cause problems in marriage, family, their work environment, and more. Scrooge is the epitome of the self-absorbed person.
Compare Scrooge to the scripture for today. Where Scrooge hoarded his wealth, Jesus promised that those who “hang on to life will lose it” (Mark 8:35a). To Jesus, the more self-absorbed a person becomes, the more he will find joy in life slipping away. If you covet yourself above all else, you will lose yourself in the process. Jesus went on to say in the second half of this scripture that by becoming selfless (“giving your life away for Jesus’ sake and for the gospel”), you will find what it means to really live!
I have known those who became self-absorbed in worldly pursuits. I have met rich people so absorbed in their search for more wealth that they couldn’t even see the plight of the poor around them. I have observed intelligent people who looked down on any other with a lesser intelligence, even ignoring conversation with them! A woman in Florida who collects expensive chinaware has a house filled with perfect specimens. What you won’t see are pictures on her wall of modern family or friends. She spends every day looking for more pieces for her collection and doesn’t have time for friendships! A news video I saw recently showed a man from Portland, Oregon lying in the street who had overdosed on Fentanyl. A woman came up to him not to help, but to steal the rest of his drugs for herself! She could care less for this man but was totally dedicated to getting her own next hit! She didn’t even care if the man lived or died; she only cared for the drugs in his pockets! There are billions of examples of those who become so self-absorbed in their own pursuits that they ignore the world around them. They become more and more alone, aloof, selfish, and self-centered without a love for others and for the gospel.
In their meditational book, Embracing Eternity, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins also saw selfishness and self-absorbed life as highly destructive. Most of all, they saw the effects of this lifestyle on the soul. They wrote:
HAVE YOU NOTICED that the most miserable people you find are those who live only for themselves? They are seldom fun to have as friends and are usually the unhappiest people on the planet. No one wants to be around them.
They are the people who think only of their own happiness. Everything they do is about them. They live to protect their personal interests and agendas. When making a decision, they think only of the consequences to their own life and circumstances. When setting their schedule, they set it according to their own wants and needs. In business transactions they think only of how the deal will impact their financial situation. They are selfish and single-minded.
Self-centeredness is a cancer that eats away at the core of a person’s heart and completely sucks the joy out of life. It kills relationships quicker than any other human condition and usually repels those who are closest. There’s nothing quite as sad as that person who becomes isolated from friends and family because of his or her selfish ambitions.
Worst of all, self-centeredness tears us away from God. Jesus says, “If any of you wants to be my follower, … you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life” (Mark 8:34–35).
Those who live only for themselves live in vain. But those who put their own interests and desires aside for the good of Jesus find true life. The only road to happiness is to live for something greater and nobler than yourself. To become a giver, not a taker. To live for Jesus, not our own desires. To pour ourselves out in God’s service, not to wear ourselves out trying to get our own way.
That’s the kind of disciple that Jesus is looking for.” (p. 311)
The Christian filled with a selfless love for others is a rare individual in the modern world. They stick out because they are so different from the norm. Others may make fun of their selfless giving. Some might take advantage of their kind and generous demeanor. However, Heaven is filled with these kinds of people. In fact, one might argue, the generous and self-giving follower of God is the ONLY type of person you will find in Heaven.
Are you generous toward others or selfish? Are you a lover of the gospel or a lover of yourself? Can you prove it?
While recovering from minor foot surgery last week, I could not wear shoes. For several days, I had to keep off my feet as much as possible and do no exercise. With nothing to do one afternoon, I turned on the TV. Lo and behold, “A Christmas Carol” was showing in the middle of October! This movie is based on the novel written by Charles Dickens in 1843. It chronicles the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is an interesting character. He is very wealthy, yet absolutely miserable. While thoroughly enjoying counting his money, he excoriates the poor and rejects anything that would make him part with his money. As I watched the movie, I was reminded that Scrooge was bitter, resentful, miserly, angry, overbearing, cruel, and more. All terrible qualities. Scrooge thought he was happy with is wealth, but his love of wealth sucked the life out of his relationships, friendships, and work environment.
It was obvious that the more selfish and self-absorbed Scrooge became, the more miserable and isolated were the days of his life.
You might think, “This is just a novel. It is over exaggeration!” Is it? Like Charles Dickens, I have found that those who become wrapped up in themselves drive good people away. They usually are not surrounded by friends but by those who are out for something. Their self-centered ways cause problems in marriage, family, their work environment, and more. Scrooge is the epitome of the self-absorbed person.
Compare Scrooge to the scripture for today. Where Scrooge hoarded his wealth, Jesus promised that those who “hang on to life will lose it” (Mark 8:35a). To Jesus, the more self-absorbed a person becomes, the more he will find joy in life slipping away. If you covet yourself above all else, you will lose yourself in the process. Jesus went on to say in the second half of this scripture that by becoming selfless (“giving your life away for Jesus’ sake and for the gospel”), you will find what it means to really live!
I have known those who became self-absorbed in worldly pursuits. I have met rich people so absorbed in their search for more wealth that they couldn’t even see the plight of the poor around them. I have observed intelligent people who looked down on any other with a lesser intelligence, even ignoring conversation with them! A woman in Florida who collects expensive chinaware has a house filled with perfect specimens. What you won’t see are pictures on her wall of modern family or friends. She spends every day looking for more pieces for her collection and doesn’t have time for friendships! A news video I saw recently showed a man from Portland, Oregon lying in the street who had overdosed on Fentanyl. A woman came up to him not to help, but to steal the rest of his drugs for herself! She could care less for this man but was totally dedicated to getting her own next hit! She didn’t even care if the man lived or died; she only cared for the drugs in his pockets! There are billions of examples of those who become so self-absorbed in their own pursuits that they ignore the world around them. They become more and more alone, aloof, selfish, and self-centered without a love for others and for the gospel.
In their meditational book, Embracing Eternity, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins also saw selfishness and self-absorbed life as highly destructive. Most of all, they saw the effects of this lifestyle on the soul. They wrote:
HAVE YOU NOTICED that the most miserable people you find are those who live only for themselves? They are seldom fun to have as friends and are usually the unhappiest people on the planet. No one wants to be around them.
They are the people who think only of their own happiness. Everything they do is about them. They live to protect their personal interests and agendas. When making a decision, they think only of the consequences to their own life and circumstances. When setting their schedule, they set it according to their own wants and needs. In business transactions they think only of how the deal will impact their financial situation. They are selfish and single-minded.
Self-centeredness is a cancer that eats away at the core of a person’s heart and completely sucks the joy out of life. It kills relationships quicker than any other human condition and usually repels those who are closest. There’s nothing quite as sad as that person who becomes isolated from friends and family because of his or her selfish ambitions.
Worst of all, self-centeredness tears us away from God. Jesus says, “If any of you wants to be my follower, … you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life” (Mark 8:34–35).
Those who live only for themselves live in vain. But those who put their own interests and desires aside for the good of Jesus find true life. The only road to happiness is to live for something greater and nobler than yourself. To become a giver, not a taker. To live for Jesus, not our own desires. To pour ourselves out in God’s service, not to wear ourselves out trying to get our own way.
That’s the kind of disciple that Jesus is looking for.” (p. 311)
The Christian filled with a selfless love for others is a rare individual in the modern world. They stick out because they are so different from the norm. Others may make fun of their selfless giving. Some might take advantage of their kind and generous demeanor. However, Heaven is filled with these kinds of people. In fact, one might argue, the generous and self-giving follower of God is the ONLY type of person you will find in Heaven.
Are you generous toward others or selfish? Are you a lover of the gospel or a lover of yourself? Can you prove it?