What Does The Bible Say About Selfishness

What Does The Bible Say About Selfishness

What Does The Bible Say About Selfishness? Behold, the Bible actually says much about selfishness. Having said this, one might ask, what is selfishness? In simple terms, selfishness is that attitude of being concerned with ones own interests at all cost above the interests of others. Whatever the case, it is important to understand here that the Bible commands us to 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 . From this Scripture, we see that Apostle Paul compares selfishness to empty conceit, a term that we can as well translate as arrogance or vanity. Behold, it is more blessed to give than to receive .

Is Selfishness A Sin

Human beings are very selfish by nature very egocentric. But we donât have to remain that way!

All sin is actually selfishness all sin is choosing to give into something that you want, that you feel serves you in that moment. This can also be called egotism. This is a completely natural tendency, which all humans have rooted very deeply in them. But, we are called to follow in Jesuss footsteps, to live our lives as He lived His, by overcoming sin. We are not meant to be trappedby our human tendencies, with no way out. Following in Jesus footsteps is only attainable if we decide to give up living for ourselves and live completely for Gods will in our life instead of our own: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit Philippians 2:3.

Bible Verses About Money Greed And Selfishness

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We all need money for our daily needs.

We need money to take good care of our families and ourselves.

But there is a limit to everything.

In our quest for more money, we should always act like Christians.

Contentment and selflessness are two priceless qualities of a faithful Christian.

We should not be greedy and selfish with money.

Thankfully, there are bible verses about money and greed.

These verses go straight to the point to remind us that we should be satisfied with what we have.

And what about covetousness? What does the bible say about being greedy about other peoples money?

God is unhappy when we are selfish and jealous.

I have put together bible verses about greed and money.

Read and be blessed.

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What The Bible Says About Selfishness

James 3:16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. 1 Corinthians 10:24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given methe task of testifying to the good news of Gods grace. 1 Corinthians 3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise.Proverbs 18:2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Romans 15:2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

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How We Overcome Selfishness

Luke 9:23: Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

In that simple verse, Jesus gives us the keys to heaven and to divine nature. Jesus says here that if we long to follow Him, we need to take up our own cross daily. Not once or twice, not sometimes, not when I feel it is my turn, but all of the time. This is the way He lived His life each day, and this is also how we are meant to live our lives. When we give up our life for God our own opinions, desires, the sinful tendencies in our flesh we get the most rewarding, happy, and fulfilling life possible here on earth, while we partake of divine nature. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. Luke 9:24.

To abide in love is to flee all selfishness: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends. John 15:13. When we overcome sin in our own personal lives, we are saving ourselves, and also helping those around us. We don’t put others first only when we feel like it, or when we feel people deserve goodness. We act in love always, for Jesuss sake, because we love Him, so we want to follow His commandments always.

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How To Deal With Ambition

1. Seek God first.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

2. Remain humble.

Luke 14: 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

3. Be selfless.

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

What Does The Bible Say About Ambition

Have you ever wondered whether or not ambition is a sin? As someone who is very passionate about following their dreams, setting huge goals, improving everyday, and working hard, Ive often times been guilty of letting ambition get the best of me. And if youre anything like me, you know the feeling of trying to balance passion, dreams, and discipline with ambition. Its not easy! But is ambition really bad? What does the Bible say about ambition? Does God want us to be ambitious? Or should we fight against ambition? If youve ever asked yourself any of these questions, today were going to dive into scripture and take a look at what the Bible says about ambition.

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SAVE WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT AMBITION? FOR LATER!

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Keep On Cleansing Your Heart

Keep cleansing me, God, and keep me from my secret, selfish sins may they never rule over me! For only then will I be free from fault and remain innocent of rebellion.

Psalm 19:13

Continual cleansing is something many of us have gotten used to over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. We know that we need to continually cleanse our hands and shared surfaces to protect ourselves from this invisible little enemy germ.

Likewise, the Bible tells us we need to keep asking God to cleanse us from our secret, selfish sins. Like invisible germs, selfish sins can hide in our hearts and cause lots of problems in our relationships.

One of the ways we can cleanse the self-sins out of our hearts is through vulnerable and honest prayer. Sometimes, unresolved emotions can make us selfish. For example, if were afraid of failure or rejection, we might turn to selfish ambition or self-reliance to handle our unresolved fear.

Trying to tell yourself not to be selfish probably wont work for very long. In the words of A.W. Tozer, self can only be removed by spiritual experience:

Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction. We may as well try to instruct leprosy out of our system. There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free.

The Pursuit of God,

Lets look at a few more scriptures to help us identify the sneaky selfish sins that might be hiding in our hearts and leave them behind us.

Learn How To Handle An Insult

The fools anger is quickly known , But a prudent man ignores an insult.

Proverbs 12:16

One sign that we lack self control is being quick to get angry. Perhaps the Bible tells us to learn to ignore insults because things that make us feel insulted happen all the time in life.

Insults are common in relationships. Someone forgot to invite you to a hangout time, or your teenager blatantly insults you when you wont give them what they want.

Relationships are difficult with anyone a friend, a spouse, or a kid if you lack self-control. Only with Gods help can we develop true spiritual self-control, and some relationships show us just how much we really need Gods help.

Emotional self-control gives us the ability to handle these painful interactions with other people with understanding and common sense.

We should note here that self-control and ignoring insults is not the same as denying or hiding our feelings. Spiritual self-control means we take the time to humbly process our feelings in prayer, understand where the other person is coming from, and find the spiritual strength to forgive or overlook wrongs, instead of quickly jumping to anger.

Pause and reflect

• How do you handle feeling insulted?
• In what relationships do you tend to get angry quickly? What do you think God could be teaching you through these relationships?

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Looking Good On The Outside

On the outside, I may look pretty good. I care for my family. I volunteer at church. We tithe and donate. I help my friends. Ive been teaching elementary school for 23 years. Heck, I even write a blog with the single purpose of helping people live better lives! But none of that really matters. What matters is the selfishness in my heart.

Have you ever found yourself being selfish about the most stupid things? This girl right here does it all the time. The other day, I got aggravated because the songs I had to lead at our church kids program were two of my least favorites. I was so annoyed that I barely wanted to sing or do the moves and forget about smiling and having fun with the kids. There was no WAY I was going to do that with this stinky music selection!

After all, worship music isnt about worshipping Jesus, is it? And theres no way it could be about the kids and helping them have fun while at church. Apparently, in Christys world, its all about ME!

Common Symptoms Or Indicators Of Self

• They have an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
• They have a sense of entitlement.
• They require constant or excessive admiration.
• They exaggerate their own achievements or talent.
• They can monopolise conversations and belittle those they perceive to be inferior.
• They dont recognise the needs or abilities of others.
• They may be preoccupied with beauty, success, and power.
• They manipulate to take advantage of others.
• Their behavior can appear arrogant or proud.
• They can feel inconvenienced if made to wait.
• They are easily offended if they feel they were mistreated.
• They want to be first, be the best, have the biggest, nicest and be highly respected.

Psychologists tell us there are three causes for being narcissistic:

• It is genetic.
• Or it can be a combination of all three.

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Reflecting On My Attitude

Looking back a few days later, I could easily see how stupid I was being. I was so self-absorbed that I missed out on some awesome moments with some great kids! Not only that, but I also spent large chunks of that same day rethinking and rehashing having to sing those blah songs. I ruined a perfectly good day with my selfishness.

When we focus so much on ourselves, and not on the others around us, we tend to become very selfish people. There are psychological studies showing a link between depression and high rates of self-centeredness. Im pretty quick to notice this trait in other people but terrible about seeing selfishness in myself.

Now, before anyone gets mad, Im not talking about clinical depression, nor do I mean to discourage anyone from getting the medical help they need! Ive been on antidepressants a few different times, so I know how it feels to be sad and not be able to fix it. But, I also know that during my most trying and sad times, my outlook will drastically improve when I begin thinking of ways to help others. If I can take the focus off of me, and put it on someone elses needs, Im going to be better off in the long run!

Find Opportunities To Be Selfless

When you pray for patience, God doesnt just give you unlimited amounts of patience. He gives you opportunities to PRACTICE patience! Its the same thing as being selfish. He doesnt just snap his fingers and make you instantly selfless, even though He could. Instead, God wants you to learn and grow, and you cant do that without practice.

You could sign up to volunteer and give your time. Or you could be generous with your money and make a donation to a worthy cause. Waving someone through a stop sign when you clearly have the right of way is another way to be less selfish . When you actively look for ways to be less selfish, the possibilities are limitless!

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How To Overcome Selfishness Or Self

Find your vertical Identity and approval in who Jesus Christ says you are NOT in the horizontal approval or acceptance of man.You are free to be who God wants you to be and not who people expect you to be. The fear of man brings a snare.

Develop a mindset that prompts you to see others as more important than you.

Practice having a servants heart by ministering to others instead of satisfying yourself.

Realize without Christ you are nothing but with Him, everything

Better To Give Than Receive

34. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

35. Proverbs 11:24-15 Those who give freely gain even more others hold back what they owe, becoming even poorer. A generous person will prosper, and anyone who gives water will receive a flood in return.

36. Deuteronomy 8:18 But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

37. Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

38. Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.

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Paul Preaching The Gospel

Romans 15: 20 And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone elses foundation.

How did ambition manifest itself in Pauls life and with what purpose?

Paul preached the gospel with ambition . He allowed God to use his life to serve others and bring glory to the gospel by preaching the gospel with godly ambition.

What Are The Characteristics Of A Selfish Person

7 Traits of Selfish People

• They do not show weakness or vulnerability.
• They dont accept constructive criticism.
• They believe they deserve everything.
• They do not listen to those who do not agree with them.
• They criticize others behind their backs.
• They exaggerate their achievements.
• They are scared of taking risks.

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Surround Yourself With Generous People

A popular belief is your behavior will be similar to the 5 people you are closest to and spend time with regularly. So, you should choose your friends wisely based on their generosity. If you are the most giving and generous person in your friend circle, you may lift the others a little. But eventually, your behaviors will likely begin to mirror theirs.

The friends you choose should display character traits that you wish to follow. And were not just talking about learning to be less selfish. Highly-motivated and goal-oriented people are also wonderful examples to follow in your career and any area of your life! Here are a few Bible verses that can help you choose fewer selfish friends.

Highly successful people also realize the power of choosing friends that make you better:

Surround yourself with those who only lift you higher. Oprah Winfrey

Its better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and youll drift in that direction. Warren Buffett

Although I may not agree with Oprah or Warren theologically, they have both been SUPER successful! Plus, they have the right idea when it comes to surrounding yourself with good people. If youre the most selfless person in your circle, its time to find some new role models!