Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." "This is the first and great commandment." "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Question, how can you keep the greatest two commandments of God listed in the scriptures above if you're always thinking about yourself?
The answer is you can't!
According to these verses you should be thinking about how to please and serve God all of the time and this includes splitting the time you think about pleasing yourself with thinking about and pleasing other people, which is also the second greatest commandment.
Some "Christians" have fallen for the idea that when the Bible says that the second greatest commandment is, "Love your neighbor as yourself.", it means that before you can keep this commandment, you must learn to love yourself.
This is not so, the real intent of the Scripture, then, is that, since you already love yourself, your love for your neighbor should be at least equal to this.
Imagine if you spent less time thinking about what you will eat, how you will pay bills, what you will put on, and things of this nature.
You would then have more time to think about serving God and helping others in conjunction with the tasks you already do for yourself everyday.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
The Bible also teaches that one should keep a humble opinion of himself. In Romans 12:3, Paul wrote, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." and in Philippians 2:3, "...in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself."
God obviously doesn't like proud boasters and people who seek to build themselves up at the expense of others.
Therefore when you do good things for other people do not do it out of pressure or for you own personal gain but without thinking about yourself point out the good qualities of that person instead of comparing their qualities to yours.
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.
Jesus said "deny yourself" in which I take to mean deny yourself of the pleasures of this world that are sin in order to live Holy.
It could also mean to refuse to believe in or accept your own ability to live a good life without Jesus and to give everything to God to take care of, which would be the appropriate way to live.
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
In conclusion if you want to be on the side of God by not being selfish its important to keep your mind off of your problems (Ph. 4:8-9). Equally consider the needs of others with your own needs (Mt.22:39) Take no thought for your life. (Mt. 6:25) Esteem others better than yourself. (Ph. 2:3) And to deny yourself by not giving in to the pleasures of sin. (Mt.16:24).
David Hopkins is a "Christian Article Writer" who specializes in helping people remember to glorify God in everything that they do, so they don't miss out on any of His wonderful blessings.
Visit daily word of god group to read additional articles and to sign-up for a free newsletter to learn everything you need to know about why you should be putting God #1 in your life.
house refresh service Lincolnshire ..My mentor, a brilliant Ph.D, with a powerful marriage counseling... Read More
Dreams take us not into ourselves, but out of ourselves.... Read More
The gate of every year is the begining of that... Read More
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ... Read More
As the artist and designer for Ashbach Designs, I want... Read More
Perhaps one of the most wonderful assertions that can be... Read More
The Tarot is not just a divinatory tool, but it... Read More
In God's world, everything can be used as an anology... Read More
In our fast paced society we often want everything done... Read More
An etheric body, also known as the aura, surrounds every... Read More
Connect with Your GodDo you at times, feel fearful, depressed,... Read More
The smart 'spiritual' answer is 'you always get what you... Read More
We as human beings travelled in small bands for hundreds... Read More
There's nothing new about "the new age" except the attitude... Read More
Do you ever have one of those days when you... Read More
It's amazing how - even when we're working from a... Read More
The Orisha are the Messengers of Oludumare, the God/dess of... Read More
I want to tell you a love story. It's actually... Read More
Natural laws exist that serve to maintain order in the... Read More
Although spring is just around the corner, there have been... Read More
A magnificent source of life insurance and it's FREE. You... Read More
In his book, Stress Without Distress, Dr. Selye suggests that... Read More
Vanity - it's easy to mask, easy to forget, and... Read More
To find out how psychic you are, try answering the... Read More
It is within us to... Read More
licensed cleaning services Lake Forest ..Yes, we are living in a world where we are... Read More
We see it all the time in people's lives some... Read More
Most forms of psychotherapy I know either tries to help... Read More
Life is like an obstacle course in which we run... Read More
The practice of meditating on loving-kindness may be over two... Read More
Tea-totalling Texans? Them's fightin' words!I live in a small Texas... Read More
Matthew 2:1-12The Visit of the Wise Men1 Now after Jesus... Read More
Animal spirit totems can be viewed in different ways according... Read More
Recently, I received a frantic midnight call from one of... Read More
Our Creator is an infinitely loving and generous provider -... Read More
Did you ever know somebody who easily accumulates wealth? If... Read More
What kind of foolishness is astrology? You read about Sun... Read More
1. The name Uriel means "Light of God" or "Flame... Read More
When we find spirituality, or it finds us, the experience... Read More
Spiritual healing of the sick in Christ has many Christians... Read More
We are the beneficiaries of the promise God made to... Read More
"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being,... Read More
The bible tells a story about four men who sat... Read More
Behold, a certain young maiden did often times and at... Read More
What we think is what we are. Our lives are... Read More
We have a proclivity to think of individuals and nations... Read More
Being critical of Buddhism isn't easy.Buddhism is the most likable... Read More
Over the past number of years, while going through my... Read More
The human body is surely a miracle of God's creation.... Read More
Being a Christian does not exempt us from having to... Read More
Spirituality |