November 29
The Obsession with Self
"Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves" - 2 Timothy 3:1-2
In this world there lives an obsession with self; each individual lives for himself. When we say "the world," we are talking about a mentality that centers on self. People always think of themselves first and what they can get. The Bible said the world would be this way, especially in the last days. The Apostle Paul warned us, "Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves" (2 Timothy 3:1-2). Many of our schools reinforce over and over again the message of the self. Kids are told today, "Get off drugs and believe in yourself instead. Look within." The problem is that a lot of those kids look within and don't like what they see. That's why they turned to drugs in the first place! They probably saw the same thing inside that you and I see when we look inside ourselves. We all see sin and hopelessness.
When we are asked to give to some worthy cause, people are now told to do it not because people need it, not because it is the right thing to do, not because it's good to sacrifice (most Americans certainly wouldn't agree with that idea today), but because "we'll feel good about ourselves." Sometimes, even in our churches, pastors teach self. Some pastors say, "Your problem is the way you see yourself. All you need is self-esteem." No, our problem is too much self-esteem. We don't need more of it; we need to die to self. Jesus said, " 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me' " (Matthew 16:24).
Copyright (c) 2004 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.