Love is not self-seeking. It instead looks to the interests of others. It puts others before itself. Dictionary.com defines the word selfish as “devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one’s own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.” This is the message that the world tells us, isn’t it? “Look out for yourself.” “Do it yourself.” “Look to your own interests.” These are in direct contrast to what the Word of God says. He says to deny yourself and pick up your cross in Matthew 16:24. He also says to love your neighbor as yourself in Mark 12:31. Both of these completely contradict what society tells us about love.
We are a sinful people who struggle everyday with being selfless. We lie to protect ourselves and we try to control situations so we come out looking good. Sometimes we are not intentionally selfish, but we are so used to looking out for ourselves that we can not think any other way. When the world pushes us in that direction, it can be difficult to see any other way. We must retrain our brain to see the hearts and lives of others first. The first thing we can do is spend time in the Word with the Lord daily, reading about people in the Bible who were selfless. Look at Queen Esther who put her own life on the line for her people when they were in danger. In Esther 4:16 she even says, “If I perish, I perish.” The second thing we can do is pray for others- ask them exactly what they need. Keep a journal or a way to keep track of what is going on in others’ lives.
By doing these things, we can become a more selfless people who look to the interests of others instead of ourselves.