Tag: selfishness

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1 Corinthians Devotionals

Selfishness and pride

1 Corinthians

If there is one theme that I’m consistently seeing in 1 Corinthians, it’s the problem of selfishness and pride in the Corinthian church. And so time and again, Paul tries to bring them back to what is central: God.

That’s what we see in chapter 8.

Some Corinthians were saying, “I know! I’m mature. I’m strong as a Christian. You don’t know. That’s why you have such a weak conscience concerning things that shouldn’t bother you at all (in this case, eating food offered to idols).”

But Paul reminds them:

“Hey! Remember what’s central here. You’re not living for yourself.

“You know that there is one God. Great! Remember what that means. He made you, and you exist for his purposes.

“You know that there is one Lord, Jesus. Great! Remember what that means. Remember that it is through him that all things were created and that all things, including you, exist.

“You’re not the center. He is.

“Remember this too: your brother (or sister) also loves God and is known by him. And if you destroy someone that Christ died for by your “knowledge,” you’re sinning against Christ, and God will hold you accountable.”

How about you? Where is your faith centered? Is it centered on you? Or is it centered on Christ?

The truth is, the moment we center our faith on ourselves, we lose sight of the gospel. We lose sight of our need for Christ, and we start thinking ourselves better than we are, while judging those around us.

We never outgrow our need for the gospel. So let us keep our lives centered on Jesus and the grace he has extended to us, and in humility and gratefulness live each day for him.

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1 Corinthians

The divisiveness that comes from pride and selfishness

1 Corinthians

In this passage, Paul once again addresses divisiveness in the Corinthian church.

We have already seen one example of this from chapter 1 where the Corinthians were arguing about which leader they were following. (1 Corinthians 1:10-15)

But here in chapter 11, we see the divisiveness that springs up from pride and selfishness. Paul writes,

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. (1 Corinthians 11:17-19)

Many Bible teachers seem to take verse 19 as teaching that we need all our disputes over scripture (leading to all the denominations we have) in order to understand the truth as it really is in the Bible.

While there may be some germ of truth to that, I have always tended to think that Paul was being quite sarcastic here.

“Of course you HAVE to have differences among you. After all, you need to show which of you have God’s approval over all the others.”

In other words, I believe he was scathing them for their divisions because it was springing up from their pride. In trying to prove their own spiritual superiority, they started looking down on others.

Part of that perhaps went back to the old way of thinking the Jews had which said that riches were a sign of God’s blessing.

And so during the communion feasts they would celebrate as a church, the rich would charge in ahead of the poor and gorge themselves on the food, probably because they were the ones who had bought it in the first place.

Their thinking probably was, “Hey, I bought this food, so I should be able to eat it. If there are any scraps left after I’m done, then these others can take those, but I’m getting mine first.”

But Paul wrote,

Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this?

Certainly not! (1 Corinthians 11:22)

Paul was saying, “What are you guys doing? You are despising the very body of Christ that you’re supposedly celebrating by humiliating those of you who are poor.”

How were they despising Christ’s body? By their pride and selfishness.

How about you? Are you by your pride and selfishness causing division in Christ’s body?

Do you look down on others because they have less than you?

Do you despise others because they are less spiritual than you?

Are you always comparing your gifts to the ones others have, and selfishly hold on to “your territory?”

These kinds of attitudes can tear apart a church.

How do you see the people in your church?

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1 Corinthians

Who we are trying to please

1 Corinthians

In 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, we’re finally wrapping up this section today which really started in chapter 8.

And Paul closes by really pinning down one of the key issues the Corinthians had: the issue of who they were living for. The issue of who they were trying to please.

It’s an issue many if not all Christians have to deal with today.

I have to admit, my “rights” are important to me. And when my rights are trampled on, I get upset.

When I feel what is due me is taken from me, I get upset. It annoys me just to have someone cut in line in front of me, for goodness’ sake.

And then I think of how I deal with my wife, or coworkers, or the people at church. It’s so easy to clamor for my rights. To demand what I think is “fair” and what I feel should be coming to me.

But the truth is, when that’s what we’re focusing on, it shows that the one person we are trying to please above all else is ourselves.

The “strong” Christians in Corinth were that way.

They didn’t care that they were hurting their weaker brothers by the things they were eating. They didn’t care if it caused unbelievers to reject Christ if they ate meat sacrificed to idols.

Why? Because it was their “right” to eat.

We’ll see this selfishness later in that they were making a mockery of the communion table by the way they treated their poorer brothers and sisters.

And the question Paul asked them, is “Who are you trying to please?

Yes, everything is ‘permissible.’ You are free to eat whatever you want. But not everything is beneficial. And you are hurting those around you by your actions.”

Paul then said,

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:24)

In other words, “Don’t make what’s good for you paramount. Don’t make your rights and freedom the most important thing to you. Put others in front of yourself.

If that means giving up food for the sake of your brothers or for the unbelievers, do it.”

Why?

Because ultimately, there is one person we should be pleasing. And it’s not ourselves.

Who should we be pleasing? Paul makes it crystal clear.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

How about you? In all that you do, who are you seeking to please?

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John John 19

Seeing beyond our misery

John

I suppose one of the biggest tests of how selfish we are is how we respond in times of misery. When we are suffering, when we are going through trials, where is our focus? Is it on us?

That would only be human, I suppose. To wallow in self-pity. To ask, “Why me?” To ask, “How long will I have to suffer like this?”

But from everything we see of Jesus on the cross, his focus was still more on others than on himself.

We saw it with the thief on the cross. We saw it in his intercession for those who persecuted him. And we see it here in this scene with his mother.

Here is his mother, weeping at the foot of the cross. Her firstborn is dying a horrible death. Apparently, her other children are not even there.

We’ve seen in the past how they thought Jesus was out of his mind (Mark 3:21).

Perhaps they were embarrassed by him and thought he had brought dishonor on the family by his crucifixion.

And so from a family standpoint, Mary stood alone. Her other children would be of little comfort to her. So when Jesus saw the disciple he loved (probably John himself) standing by her, he said to his mother,

Dear woman, here is your son. (John 19:26)

And to John, he said,

Here is your mother. (John 19:27)

From that time on, John took Mary into his home.

Jesus had every right to focus solely on his suffering. He was innocent. He deserved none of what he went through. And yet, he continued to focus on and care for others.

How about you?

One of the most remarkable women I have ever met was the wife of one of my pastors. She was one of the most caring people I have ever met. And that continued even to her death.

She went to be with the Lord a couple of years ago, a victim of cancer. But even though at the end, she was forced to stay in bed and to be cared for by others, she didn’t wallow in self-pity. To the end, she was still trying to minister, even to the person who had been hired to care for her.

This is not to say that she was perfect. I’m sure she went through times of depression. But her focus never stayed inward. And in that, she was a picture of our Savior.

What struggles are you going through? What problems? What trials?

As you go through them, where is your focus? Is it solely on yourself? Or can you see beyond your misery to see beyond yourself?

A heart that focuses on itself in times of misery stays in misery.

A heart that can see beyond its misery to the needs of others rises above it.

And ultimately finds joy.