Today is Sonday on the Facebook page and group, a day to consider all that God is teaching us, speaking to us about, Scripture verses, worship songs, etc. I shared on Friday how through Christ’s death and resurrection, we have a new advantage over the problems sin brings into our lives. Sin is inherently selfish and does not put others first and when it does put other first, there is some form of kickback giving it a sense of accomplishment and justification. Nothing made this behaviour more clear to me than an employer I had off and on since 2013. This person is well past retirement age but refuses to retire until he is debt-free. Unfortunately, he lives in a perpetual state of cycling debt and will not take steps to break free of it to achieve his goal. But one thing he does on a regular basis and tried to rope me into it several times, was this issue of giving to others in order to have a basis of favor to draw on later for himself. Scripture tells us to give with no thought of return. Scripture tells us a generous man has many friends but when the money dries up, so might those friends. When we give to get, we run that risk. But this type of giving is touted even among business sales elites who teach that if you want something in life, help enough other people get what they want and you’ll eventually get what you want too. God’s Word teaches to help others get what they need without regard for what you might get in return. God’s Word also says to put Him first and what we need will be granted to us.
Focus is everything. Where sin is god, the focus is on self and what I can get out of this. But where God is on the throne, focus is on His desire for others and what they can benefit from instead. God is love. Sin is selfish.
The confusing rub can come in where we must learn how to love ourselves before we can love others because God teaches us to love others as we love ourselves. The kind of love described here is not a pampering, luxurious, wasteful type of love. It is a love that fits into the category of Agape. It is caring, looking to one’s needs for cleanliness, nutrition, clothing, relationship, etc. When we do what needs to be done to look after our own health, we are said to love ourselves. When we ensure we stay away from danger, we love ourselves. When we exercise, get a good night’s sleep, and eat properly, we love ourselves. We are to love others that way as well. We are to see to their needs, their health, their wellbeing. The trick to this is seeing ourselves and accepting ourselves the way God sees us, not the way advertisers and retailers see us.
We are to manage our affairs God’s way, not sin’s way. In sin’s way, “I” come first and everyone else somewhere down the line. They rise up that line the more they can benefit me! If I can’t benefit in some way from their being in my life, they get shunted down the list. In God’s way, others come before we do. JOY is sometimes used as an acronym for Jesus, Others, You. Rest assured, you are in there somewhere, just not first like sin would have you believe. Put the Saviour of your soul first in your life and your own needs will be tended to. Put others second in your life as God brings them along your path and you will be showing Jesus you love Him by being obedient to His commands. Christ reminds us to love others as He has loved us and to continue in HIs love. This is part of a discourse in John 13-16. God’s love for us is selfless and so should our love for others.
If you struggle putting others first without thinking about how they can repay you, if self-care looks like pampering instead of attending to daily needs, it is time to take self and sin off the throne and put Christ there instead. He can give you victory over sin’s selfish ambitions and desires. But He must be first in your life. Perhaps on this very different Resurrection Sunday as everyone celebrated in their own homes, it is a good time to rededicate yourself to Christ and ask once more that His healing, protecting, cleansing shed Blood would flow over your heart mind and spirit afresh, that He would plant renewed focus on God and His righteousness, serving how God leads you to serve with no thought for yourself. [bctt tweet=”Sin is powerless when God is in the room because of Christ’s victory over sin and the grave!” username=”songdovemd”]
Be reminded today, there is hope! You don’t have to do this alone! Give sin’s selfish accumulation of clutter to God today and ask the Holy Spirit for the self-control necessary to tune out entitlement and tune in to serve.
