by Steve Preslar

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

The first four words sum it all up. “Do nothing from selfishness.” We would all do well to measure our motives for service every time we serve. Is our service to Christ and one another rooted in a true desire to see the needs of others met with no regard to our own wants or needs? Or as Pastor John had said, am I just trying to be one of the “pretty people?” Well, sadly I think that many of us can say that our motives have not always been in-line with God’s Word. If we choose to serve one another either in the context of the church or outside the context of church we need to make sure our motives are pure.

Pride is self-importance and self-focus – which leads to selfishness which is prideful thinking and prideful actions – which is the opposite of Jesus’ command of agape love (John 13:34). Pride and selfishness always go together. A truly humble person cannot be selfish at the same time. Pride is the root of selfishness – and thus the root of all evil. Pride is hidden but manifests as selfish acts. Selfishness is the obvious problem, but pride feeds it. Dealing with the root cause of the problem is the only lasting solution. Pride produces selfishness, and all selfishness is pride. Doing things yourself, on your own, is a part of selfishness. Prayer is the opposite of doing things yourself. We must desire God’s: will, done in God’s time, and done God’s way.

So pride and selfishness are rooted in every sin. If you remember, Satan got thrown out of heaven for placing his will above God’s (Isaiah 14:12-17), and it was Adam and Eve’s pride and independence that introduced sin into the world (Genesis 3). There are a whole host of other examples in scripture that testify to this fact. Why did King David commit adultery with Bathsheba? Selfishness. Why did he later murder Uraih, Bathsheba’s husband? Selfishness. In the New Testament, Acts chapter 5 we see Ananias and Sapphira’s sin of lying to the Holy Spirit. Why did they lie? Selfishness. I could go on with example after example and we would see that pride and selfishness are indeed at the root of all sin.

In Philippians 2:3-4, why do you think selfishness is listed first? It’s because we are so prone to it. So what are we doing about it? Simply, we do what the passage says. We just don’t do it. Simple huh? Being selfish is easy, its like water flowing down a stream. There is very little resistance to it. Not being selfish is hard work. It takes a very conscious effort on your part to set aside your own ambitions and perceived needs and interest for those of Christ or another person. I am not saying this is easy but it is written for our instruction. We should strive to be selfless. I am sure that most of us have read Philippians 2:3-4 more times then we can count, but have you taken the time to meditate on it? If not I encourage you to take some time this week to do so. Be honest with God, ask Him to reveal those areas in your life where selfishness has taken root, and then when He does show you, be obedient and be “doers of the word” (James 1:22).