Selfishness

11th Dec - Trevor Withers

 

The selfishness epidemic.

 

Recent teaching in Network Church has had the underlying theme of community. Selfishness stops community.

Trevor shared examples of things which happened to him this week, which demonstrate how rife the selfishness epidemic is.

Adam & Eve wanted to become equal with God, wanted to put themselves at the centre of everything. This selfishness has continued.

We don't share bathrooms any more, certainly not in most hotels, and many homes now have en-suite bathrooms.

In shops we have so much choice, so much to try to please us, putting us at the centre, pandering to our selfishness. Fulfilment is not to be found there however.

Clip from Tony Campolo: There has been Fascism, there has been Communism, but Capitalism has lasted longer than both. Why? It produces more ‘stuff’ for the least amount of money. It's all about producing stuff. We buy and buy. At Christmas we buy things nobody needs for people who already have everything.

Our selfish society is throwing stuff at us.

 

There are more cars on the road because people don't want to wait for the bus and share their space with other people.

In schools year 9s see the world as virtual reality, superficial. This is echoed by watching TV and playing video games, which disconnect them from reality, the reality of having to connect with other people.

We try to stop aging by buying creams, denying reality, trying to disconnect ourselves from the world.

As Christians we also try to pull away from reality. Jesus came to show that he connects with the reality of our world, its worries and cares and pain. But we often try to create a ‘nice’ place for us to be, away from the pain and the worries.

Jesus came to save us from ourselves, our own selfishness.

 

Matt 10 v 39 (he who has found his life will lose it, he who loses it will find it.)

We are searching for things to give us fulfilment and short term gratification, but we must put our own selfish desires and needs last, and put Jesus first.

The prodigal son wanted stuff now, didn't want to wait. The father gave it to him, was he irresponsible? Since the father represents God, is God irresponsible?

The son eventually realised that he hadn't found fulfilment, instead he'd lost everything. What will it take for each of us to realise that fulfilment is not to be found in stuff.

Trevor's neighbour is (via a charity) giving goats and chickens to people on the other side of the world, instead of spending on things she and others don’t need. Christmas needs to be celebrated, especially by Christians, but how much do we spend unnecessarily in a needy world?

2 Cor 5 v 13-15 (he died so that we might live for him, no longer for ourselves.)

Phil 2 v 5b onwards (did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped)

Are we going to lie under the cloud of the selfishness epidemic or are we going to model ourselves differently, depending on God and standing out from the crowd.