Tag: selfish

Try To Do Things Yahweh

I have to be honest with you – I was so proud of myself when I came up with that title! Now I just need a blog post to go along with it…

In all seriousness, I do have an important point to make today, and I’m not just bending a message to fit the title.

A few days ago, I sat praying in my usual spot. It has been a fairly tough time for the family over the last few months, and I was reflecting on this and bringing it before the Lord. I started to pray for each individual involved, “God, please help me to support this person…” “Lord, please help me show your love to that person…” Lord, please help me do this, that or the other…” I began to feel overwhelmed and could not imagine how I could minister to all the people in my life who needed it at that moment.

Then, with a simple word, I felt God speak to me.

Don’t try to do my job for Me, Andy…

Now to be clear, this was not an audible voice I heard with my physical ears. I’m always conscious of pointing that out whenever I say that God “spoke” to me. This was an inner witness, and what I mean by that is simply that this was the sense I got from the Father inside.

With that one phrase, it lifted the pressure right off of me. I am responsible to love and care for the people in my life, and where led to, I should minister and support all that I can with the love of the Father. However, I am not God (clearly!). I cannot do what He can do, and I cannot take His place in the lives of those around me.

I have a part to play, but God is the one in charge. He knows far better than I what people need and how best to help them.

The truth is I have a problem with pride. In my time with God in the mornings at the moment, I’m doing a brief study on this subject, and it dawns on me how strong my prideful spirit is at times.

Pride and selfishness are close cousins. Humility and submission are likewise related.

When I become impatient in a situation, it is because my pride is kicking in and telling me I shouldn’t have to wait. When I get angry, it is frequently because I am not getting what I want. When I feel anxious, I am not trusting God but rather trusting in myself to fix the problems – which are often out of my control.

Can you relate?

Too frequently, I do things my way. Instead, let’s try to do things Yahweh…

Let God be God, and humbly submit to Him. Instead of impatience and anger, put the other person first and give them the space and time they need (even if it takes you a little longer to do what you need to).

Christ is our ultimate example of humility.

Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 (WEB)

Wow! These verses are just wow! What an example of humility! Jesus, equal to God, stepped down from heaven and became a human being… and just that, but became obedient to death – even death of a hideous cross.

He did things Yahweh…

How about you today? Will you try to do it all your way and in your own strength? O will you try, like me, to submit to God and do things His way? It is not a onetime choice, but something we will have to do time and time again. That is what it means to crucify the flesh and to carry the cross daily.

O Lord help me surrender to You this day! Let me do it all Your way and not mine! Help me let go of my pride and se3lfishness, and clothe myself in humility – putting others ahead of myself! In the great Name of Jesus! Amen

Having a Bad Day

A few days ago, one of my children was “having a bad day.” She had tried to play with her sisters, but no one could agree on a game and so it descended into a heated debate. She then tried to draw a picture, but it did not turn out as she wanted and this led to further tears. It all became a bit overwhelming and we agreed the only solution was a short nap to reset.

Such “bad days” are not limited to 7 year olds however…

Truth be told, I woke up in a bad mood today. I had not slept that well and then my youngest woke me up early, refusing to settle back to sleep for even a short time. I got up with her, and she scattered cereal across the floor and covered items in orange pen that were perfectly good the colour they were. I let these things feed into my mood and it is not unfair to describe me as “grumpy!”

Ever had a day like that?

If I am totally honest, the source of my grumpiness is really just plain old selfishness. I didn’t sleep well… I woke up early… I didn’t get to start my day the way I wanted… Count the “I”‘s here…

Selfishness is about looking inwardly, and it means our focus is solely on ourselves and not on anyone else. Now it is perfectly fine to take care of yourself at times, but sadly most of us are addicted to comfort and getting what we want. If we do not get what we feel we should have, then we throw an adult fit of one kind or another. For me, this often looks like a fraying or shortening of the temper. I sit down to do something, and life (or children) have other plans and I react badly, feeling hard done by.

It only takes a short time of reflection to realise how good I’ve got it. How many couples would dream of being woken early by a child, and do not have the chance? How many homeless men and women would dream of having a living room to clean? When we fix our eyes on what we do not have, we end up feeling like we are somehow missing out. Yet when we focus on what we do have, it leads us down a path of gratitude.

Yesterday I was thinking about Paul and Silas in Acts 16.

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:22-25 (NIV)

Paul and Silas had become involved in something of a controversy. They had cast a demonic spirit out of a slave, and she could no longer perform the fortune telling her owners required. This led to an uproar, and as we see above, Paul and Silas were in trouble.

They were stripped before the crowd, which was a major humiliation. Then, they were beaten with rods. These were not a gentle correction, but a severe beating. It is likely they were bruised, bleeding and probably with broken bones. The pair are then thrown into the “inner cell.” This was perhaps the worst cell in the jail, and being in the middle of the complex, had no windows and hence no daylight. Paul and Silas would not have been able to tell the time, and this alone would have been torturous. Lastly, we they are put in stocks. Again, these are not the ones you might have seen on TV, but equipment designed to stretch and contort the body in painful ways.

Now that’s “having a bad day!”

How did this Christian pair react? They sang hymns of praise to God! Even in that dark and painful place, those two focussed on what they had and not what had been taken away from them. My grumpiness pales in comparison to what they were facing, yet they acted far more godly than I did.

What are we willing to put up with for the sake of the Gospel? What discomfort are we willing to undergo for the benefit of our families? What are you willing to sacrifice for the need of someone else?

I confess my bad start to the day and ask the Lord to forgive me. I also ask Him to help me get my mind off of myself and on to how I can be a blessing to someone else. The cure for selfishness is selflessness. That’s something of a mouthful! Ultimately we replace one thought with another, and that means we replace thinking about ourselves with thoughts of other people and what we can do for them.

As Jesus hung on the cross, He did not think of Himself but on those He was there for. We see that from His words asking His Father to forgive them.

Let each of us follow Christ’s example today and be willing to suffer – even in small ways – for the sake of other people. What does that look like for you today?

Lessons from the supermarket

It has been a while since I was last in a supermarket, I’ll admit… my wonderful wife does nearly all of the shopping for the family and so has had to face the hoards of stockpiling assassins for a couple of weeks now. A fabulous job she has done!

I am no stranger to the supermarket however, and was reflecting on a few things we could all learn from our experiences there. 

Lesson #1 – Put your trolley back when you’re finished

In my student days, our university campus was close to a large supermarket. The staff were all too aware of the havoc unruly students could cause with their shopping carts. Often they would be seen trying to take them back to their student digs, or even using them as a primitive form of transport. 

I remember once being approached by a member of staff, reminding us that we could not take the trolley off of the premises. I was a little indignant, as I had not planned on stealing the precious cart. I recall we took it to the very limits of the property before said member of staff came trotting after us to ensure we went no further. 

Put your trolley back when you’ve finished with it. Once you’ve unloaded it into your car, think of someone else and take it back where it belongs. Don’t just dump it wherever suits you, and definitely do not prop it up against someone else’s vehicle. That’s not ok. 

Believe it or not, it really isn’t the supermarket’s job to go around collecting up trolleys that have been left all over the place. Take a moment to realise that at the moment in particular, they have bigger things going on. 

Lesson #2 – Put any unwanted items back where they belong

Not dissimilar to lesson one, if you pick something up that you later decide you do not want, please put it back where it belongs. 

We’ve all seen it, if not done it, where we pick up an item and then three aisles later realise we no longer need it. Rather than go back and replace it,, we just put it on the most convenient shelf. That’s how you end up with cauliflowers mixed in with detergent. This, also, is not ok. 

Think of the person who has to sort that out later. Supermarket staff have a job to do, and chasing after you to put back things in their proper place is not generally covered. It’s rather lazy and selfish to just leave things lying around for someone else to pick up. 

Lesson #3 – Don’t take more than you need

In the UK, we are extremely fortunate to have so much choice and abundance in our supermarkets. On a “normal day” we can pop in to even small supermarkets and get everything we need, and usually have a choice of items. We don’t know how fortunate we are! 

In recent days, we’ve seen so many people stocking up in case of shortages. Toilet rolls have been a particular prized item, and we all saw pictures on the news of people loading up shopping carts full of hundreds of rolls! 

How many toilet rolls do you need exactly?

In times of isolation, it is perfectly reasonable to pick up a few extra items to ensure you don’t have to shop more often than required. But when you take so much all in one go, it usually means someone else will miss out. And there is a possibility that that person needs it far more than you do. 

If everyone just took what they needed, and no more, then there would be plenty for everyone.

Lesson #4 – Be kind

Be kind. Just be kind. 

I saw a story on the news this week about a member of staff manning a checkout. A customer wanted several of the same item, but the member of staff told they there was a policy of only three items per person. There was an exchange, and in the end the customer spat at the member of staff. I need not say how utterly disgraceful such behaviour is. 

Be kind to your fellow shoppers. Don’t push them around or cut in front of them. Be kind to members of staff who really are working hard to ensure everyone can get what they need. 

Is this biblical?

“This is all very well, Andy,” you might be thinking. “But what does this have to do with the Bible?” 

Actually, I think it has a great deal to do with the Bible. 

The Bible is not a book to be studied academically. It isn’t just interesting. It is a guide for how God wants us to live (among other things). We must turn the Bible’s teaching into practical action. 

You could sum up the above lessons into: 1) Don’t Be Selfish and 2) Be Kind to People. there is clear Scripture to support these two points. 

Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain.

Psalm 119:36 (WEB)

And also:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,[a] 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (WEB)

To name but a few. 

The point is, how we live and act in the world is a witness for Jesus. It can be a good witness, or it can be a poor one. 

Wherever we are and whatever we are doing, let’s do our best to represent God well in the world. We are His ambassadors. 

We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (WEB)

Let’s act like God is watching, because He is. Let’s act as though the world is also watching, because they are too.