Let Go of Selfishness

Romans 18:11-26 NIV “11 Then six hundred men of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan[a] to this day. 13 From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.14 Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, some household gods and an image overlaid with silver? Now you know what to do.” 15 So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him. 16 The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17 The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate.18 When the five men went into Micah’s house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”19 They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” 20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. 21 Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.22 When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. 23 As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”24 He replied, “You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’”25 The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” 26 So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.

This particular situation in the bible is about speaking about selfishness, the Danites were searching for a place of their own because they had not yet come into their inheritance among the tribes of Israel. If you read the above scripture you will see how they went to Micah’s house took his priest and his household gods with a few other things. The Danites did not worship God, they worship idols and false gods even though they knew who God was. When they decided to follow God which was not to often they only followed him for selfish gain. I encourage you to read the whole book of judges for yourselves, actually read the whole bible.

In the old testament you learn a lot about how things were done under the old law and why Israel were stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. They were stuck because of things like the above scriptures, they were fickle people, one day they would follow God when everything was going good (selfish gain) when things were not going the way they wanted they would turn from worshipping God to worshipping idols and false gods. Why are you following God?? Take the time to ask yourself this question and really look in your heart for the answer, ask God to reveal you heart to you.Take a look at Proverbs 4:23 “above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it” one more verse to take a look at is Luke 6:45 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Our words and deeds reveal our true motivates and beliefs and even our attitudes. So if you are selfish that reveals a lot about your motives, attitude and belief.

God is never selfish, he blesses us even when we don’t deserve it because he loves us so much and wants what is best for us. let’s start following God to serve him not ourselves. One way to do that is by servanthood Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interest of others.”  We should all strive to change with the Lord’s help because we can’t change ourselves on our own but we should do because of Love. The benefit is  Love is very powerful, you do not how much you can help someone by constantly loving them. True love is explained in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ” Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking. it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth, it always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” and 1 John 3:16-17 ” This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” It is such a beautiful feeling to love and help others for their benefit and not our own. I encourage you to try it and see how it feels to help someone not for your own benefit but for that person’s benefit.

God bless you

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© 2015 Jasmine Samilton