While the Bible clearly teaches self-worth, it also denounces self-interest.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said that we were to love God with all our hearts, and love others with the same concern that we show for ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). When we obsess over ourselves, we lose the meaning of life, which is to love and serve God, and love and serve our neighbours.In a 2003 report, 'Hardwired to Connect', [Hardwired_to_Connect.pdf]
33 research scientists discovered that we are biologically primed to find meaning through relationships.Chuck Colson said:
'After nearly eight decades of living, I can vouch for this. My single greatest joy is giving myself to others and seeing them grow in return. You cannot discover that without commitment. I first learned it by watching my parents care for my dying grandparents in our home... l later saw it in the Marine Corps. You cannot go into combat, commanding 45 men as I was trained to do, if you weren't committed to one another. You were going to die if the man next to you did not cover your back... By abandoning commitment, our narcissistic culture has lost the one thing it desperately seeks: happiness. Without commitment, our individual lives will be barren and sterile. Without commitment, our lives will lack meaning and purpose. After all, if nothing is worth dying for, then nothing is worth living for. Jesus taught that the only way to live abundantly is to die to self-interest and give yourself fully to God, and to those who need what God has given you.'
Soul Food: Rev 19-22, Matt 19:20-30, Ps 106:1-23, Pro 7:1-2
Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Monday, 10 March 2014
APPS available here
