Bible commentator William Barclay wrote about a young woman named Edith who was very self- centered – "Edith lived in a little world, bound on the north, south, east, and west by Edith." I don’t agree with everything Barlcay wrote in his commentaries, but he very often had, as we say, "a way with words." In those few words about Edith he reminded us why self-centeredness and selfish living is such an awful thing. If we leave self-centered tendencies and habits in our lives unchecked, we not only inadvertently shrink the world we live in down to a little bitty thing, but we shrink ourselves as human beings and make our lives much smaller than God created us to be. The Bible collides head-on with worldly think- ing about "self." Philippians 2:3b urges "with humility of mind let each one regard one another as more important than himself" (New American Standard Bible). But the evidence is everywhere that most people don’t live that way. We like to look at ourselves, hear ourselves, express ourselves, talk about ourselves, display ourselves, promote ourselves, post about ourselves, and seek to fulfill ourselves. In short, millions now live in a little world bounded on the north, south, east, and west by themselves. Consider this article by an unknown source entitled "How To Be Miserable" – "Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use ‘I’ as often as possible. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious, jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a criticism. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful for favors shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others."
In Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus Christ issues this counter-cultural call – "If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up His cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Of what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Those words are not hard to understand, but are very difficult to obey. To deny one’s self is more difficult than pulling up a dandelion by the root. It means a lot more than giving up something like chocolate for a week or not spending six hours a day watching TV or on Facebook. Barclay, quoted above, wrote, "To deny oneself means to obliterate self as the dominant principle of life, and to make God the ruling principle, more, the ruling passion of life." This is not the way worldly people live, and sadly, it is not the way many professed followers of Jesus live. The great screen star of days gone by, Katherine Hepburn once observed, "If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased." That thinking is pervasive in our "me-first ... I’m worth it" culture. But the Spirit of God calls us to swim against the strong current of selfishness – "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me’ " (Romans 15:2-3). Here is the great challenge of the Christian life. If you want to live in a little world, make life be all about you. But if you want a bigger and better world for yourself (and others) you must deny yourself! So said Jesus – history’s supreme expert and example on denying selfishness and taking up a cross. Now, will you do with your self?
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
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