Self - Less Living

I am preparing for the next sermon series on Romans at church.  In my preparation reading I found some interesting comments by John MacArthur that I thought worthy for reflection.  He writes,

The ultimate goal in many lives today is little more than perpetual self- satisfaction. Every object, every idea, every circumstance, and every person is viewed in light of what it can contribute to one's own purposes and welfare. Lust for wealth, possessions, fame, dominance, popularity, and physical fulfillment drives people to pervert everything they possess and everyone they know. Employment has become nothing more than a necessary evil to finance one's indulgences. As is often noted, there is constant danger of loving things and using people rather than loving people and using things. When that temptation is succumbed to, stable and faithful personal relationships become impossible. A person engulfed in self- will and self- fulfillment becomes less and less capable of loving, because as his desire to possess grows, his desire to give withers. And when he forfeits selflessness for selfishness, he forfeits the source of true joy.

Selfish greed progressively alienates a person from everyone else, including those who are closest and dearest. The end result is loneliness and despair. Everything that is craved soon yields to the law of diminishing returns, and the more one has of it the less it satisfies.

Reading this made me think about the number of people in churches today who seek only what can lead to their own satisfaction.  This is nothing more than a modern day idolatry.  How the Lord desires for us to serve Him and others at the core of our hearts and with the fruits of our lives. 

A few weeks ago I challenged that church should not be about "what I can get," nor should it be about "what I can give," instead it should be about "what others can gain."  The others to whom I am referring are two audiences.  The first audience is the Lord, for He gains our worship and adoration.  The second audience is the world around us, whether that be our church community or the community in which we live and work.  This fulfills the two greatest commandments.  Love the Lord your God and Love your Neighbor as Yourself. 

Selfishness will only prohibit the best worship and service from happening.  There is a return when we get this right and it is directed at ourselves, it is joy.  This joy is truly bound in our relationship with Jesus as we steward the grace we have discovered in Him.  MacArthur concludes that there is a law of diminishing returns when we crave the wrong thing. So the question for every one of us is: By what are you satisfied?