Tag Archives: Selfishness

Worth It All

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Those who know me, know that in my past I have been an agent for destruction.  Everywhere I went, I destroyed lives.  Selfishness was all I knew.  I had no respect for anyone else’s life, or prosperity.  Only God knows how much of that man is dead.

But a new man has risen from the carcass.  This one is thoroughly ashamed of such behavior.  He strives to let people be more than himself.  But again, only God knows how much.

I did the things I did out of habit.  One might say out of compulsion.  And I don’t know how many of those habits or how much selfish compulsion to be destructive still lives in my mind.  All I know is that I strive everyday, all day, to be a different man.

Prayer has become often and earnest.  With a great abandon, I have thought the truth of God through and through.  To the point that what you see written in this blog is likely less than 1/8 the volume.  And with all my might I strive to do the things I learn.

I’m not trying to praise myself.  And it would be ridiculous to look for pity.  For justice remembers that I had no pity on others.

I write this for the sake of those who are like I was.  I write this that you may know there is a way out.  And the exit door has a name, Jesus the Christ of God.  But I also wrote this as a testimony to what you can expect.

You can expect to remember what you’ve done.  You can expect the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins.  You can expect God to teach you how to put selfishness away.  You can expect him to teach you the real meaning of love.  You can even expect to become quite trustworthy.

But you cannot expect those who knew the man you were, to trust you.  Just as you will not forget the man you were, they remember all the more. 

But doesn’t that painful experience give you a magnificent opportunity to be humble, forgiving, patient and understanding?  And aren’t those four attributes foundations for love?

You can expect that becoming the new man will be a horribly painful experience.  But I have determined, it is about time I tasted my own medicine.  And the Lord Jesus reassures me that the pain will be worth it all.

By His Grace

Baby “Man”

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Here we live and die in obscurity.  How utterly unpalatable for Man!  “I refuse to live in obscurity I will be recognized as vital!”  So screams Man.

Everything the heart of Man does is focused on recognition.  The way he moves, how he dresses himself, the words he uses as he speaks, the friends he gathers to himself, and all the things he buys with what money he can make.  These are but a loud cry of complaint.

Scream and cry and kick like a baby.  Beat your brother about the head for the things he has, you will gain absolutely nothing.  It will gain you nothing in the end.  As you lived your life in obscurity, so you will die.  Though you strive to “keep up with the Joneses”, amasing similar trinkets, you still remain obscure.

The pride of man is futile and pure folly.  But humility before God in Christ Jesus His holy son, this is renowned.  This is to become “someone”!

By His Grace

Afraid to DEATH

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Afraid to testify.

“Oh my!”

Afraid to be rejected.

(Afraid to be included,

By the only One who matters;

Afraid to be singled out,

Afraid of the label of Christian,

Afraid to be introduced to what is

Holy, lasting, pristine.

Afraid to take part with Christ

In this Holy war of will.)

Afraid to lose.

Afraid to win.

Afraid of hell.

Yet afraid to enter in.

SO BE IT!

Do you think you’ll go unnoticed,

When you stand with all the rest;

When God throws away the useless,

And blesses what is best?

May it be done as you have believed.

How much fear do you think you will own,

When your name is not found in the book?

For now you fear their perception.

Don’t you fear God’s contemptuous look?

If fear has held you hostage,

What will that moment be?

For now you fear what Man can do;

Who can only harm your body.

A man belongs to whom he serves.

Dishonor strives to keep what is his;

Not considering the honor of Christ.

Honorable love fears the One who IS.

Understanding that Holy, paid price.

SO BE IT!

Honorable love honors He who IS.

It says, “I will stop my cowering.

I will give myself to what is His”.

“SO BE IT!”

Weeping and gnashing of teeth belong

To the weak and faithless many.

Who hid among the rebellious throng,

Trying to save “life“,

As if pennies.

By His Grace

Love of self

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Man does not have to love God.  You’re more than welcome to consume the things of this world that he has created for your benefit.  And no one can force you to thank him. 

You’re more than welcome to live your entire life without thinking about him and pondering eternity.  You can choose to live in the deepest of wicked behavior, or the greatest of social graces.  You are not forced to consider your life before his Holy eyes.

You don’t even have to think about your own death and what will happen after.  There is an eternity.  But you don’t have to ponder that.  It will come and take you when the time is right.

But if you hate him now, what will you do after this life?  Have you scoped out heaven and found yourself a place to live where God is not?  Perhaps you plan to purchase a piece of land on the edge of heaven, far away from his throne.  Have you thought that there may not be such a place?

For now you can ignore him.  You can thrive just fine with what he supplies, for he sends rain upon the just and the unjust.  But what will you do when the entirety of heaven and eternity contains the vibrant, glorious and radiant beauty of God?

Everyone you will meet will be singing beautiful songs about the God they love.  But you would hate them.  The song of selfishness you sing now is the song you want to hear.  But no one there will understand your words.  And the melody would be like a squeaking hinge or fingernails on a blackboard.

It’s okay, don’t worry.  God has reserved a place for those who hate him.  But the provision is made up of things you now despise.  No delicate banquet for you to attend.  No fine clothing to attract attention.  No loving family to support you in your folly.  No beautiful parties to attend.  No entertainment to distract you from your hours. And no possible hope of release.

You don’t have to love God now.  But that won’t change when you die.  If you don’t love him now you won’t love him then.

You can fill up your life with selfishness.  Its ok.  He has prepared a place for such as you.

Productivity

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Even if what I write was consistently true, if it does not find a home with a sinner I have written for nothing.  Grace is extended to me.  The Lord is glorified by the things written here.   I am nothing if He is not glorified by His servant.  Yet I yearn to know that this service is constructive.  He holds His own reward in His Holy hand.  The fruit of this place is within His promise.

Selfish desire for encouragement is upon these words.  But anyone who will apply their pen to the Gospel will encounter a desire to know their value.  Help me, Lord, to continue despite this folly.  Bless these words with strength when they find another in the same state of mind.  You are sufficient in Your Grace.

Stupid Intelligence

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Stupid signs

Stupid signs (Photo credit: pkevinconnell)

I cannot understand us.  How do I put this?  I guess I’ll start with what we all know.

Men love selfishness.  And I guess that’s natural.  I’ve often said that we are born defensive.  After all, we can’t get outside our vulnerable skin.  So we are on the defensive from the moment we notice we have fingers.  Ok, I got that.

Now I know that this selfishness lends itself to rebellion against manipulation of any kind.  Even if we try to help another man understand his responsibility to others, it’s like pulling teeth without pain-killer.  Isn’t that what we face raising teens?

And what if a teen has not learned responsibility when it was due to learn?  He becomes an adult full of selfish and childish attitudes about life.  In this way, we see rebellious adults all over the place.  So we know about rebellion first hand.  Yea?  I think we can all nod about that.

Now we don’t really know a whole lot about pure good and perfect responsible behavior.  We all take stabs at it as best we can.  But we all know we fall short of purity in one way or another.  Again, I think we can all nod to that.

Here is what I don’t get:

Perfect isn’t a word that lends itself to interpretation.  Perfect is perfect.  That also means perfect is eternal by nature.  So why do we find men trying to water down the word “perfect”?  Why don’t we find them, instead, admitting that they are far less than perfect?

I am astounded that certain men, who know better, believe and teach something other than the whole Gospel.  Some how they have been duped into something far less than the perfect message of the Gospel.  And they seem to think that it’s ok to just kind of tear away at the concept of perfect.  I’m sorry.  I’m just amazed at us!  In the end we have to say this (as it was said by that wonderfully deficient character), “Stupid is what Stupid does.”