In an age where political correctness reigns, there is an important trend that must be noticed:
As the demand for “acceptance” has increased, actual compassion for people has decreased. Care, grace, and love for others has lessened in our modern world of simply “accepting” how people are and moving on without taking the time to find out who they are and why.
This ultimately stems from selfishness. Selfishness has exploded. We do not even notice it anymore – it is a permanent mindset that we must consciously fight if we are to see Reality. Our culture tells us we deserve whatever we can get, that this world exists to serve our purposes, that life really is all about me. Why shouldn’t I do what I want, take what I can get, assume that everything I have is mine?
But the reality is, in fact, that I am not the center of the universe. There is more to this life than me being happy, than the world running on my needs and desires, than me having and doing and being all that I want. My nature, my corrupt being that is exaggerated by this self-focused culture, tells me so strongly that this universe revolves around me that I find myself in a selfish state of mind constantly. My first thought after a friend tells me about something going on in her life is “How will this affect me?” My first thought after I read Scripture is “How does this help me?” My initial reaction even after a humanitarian event or human rights talk is “How will it look for me if I am involved in this?” Because of the work of our great God in my life, it now only takes me a couple seconds to catch myself and even less than that to be disgusted with myself.
Being married for the extremely extended period of one week has shown me this nasty part of my nature even more. I love my husband more than anyone else on this earth and it is through him that God has helped me see what selfless love looks like: I want to give up more of myself for him. I want to see him elevated above myself. I want him to have more than me, to live longer than me, to receive more praise than me (because he definitely deserves it!) I decided not to do a job that I’ve wanted to do for several years now so I can help him more with his job and just serve him better. I woke up at 6 AM this morning to go into his 5th grade classroom and help him put papers together for his students. I love doing his dishes, washing his clothes, and making him food. Things that I never thought I would want to do for someone, that are opposite of what my selfish nature tells me I should be doing - that are opposite of what my selfish nature tells me I deserve – I love doing. God has already used this marriage relationship in extraordinary ways to show me what it looks like to love someone more than myself.
Even in this relationship I have to fight against my natural instinct. My nature tells me I should have slept in, I should have done what I wanted to benefit my future career and my interests. But the Reality is that the more we focus on ourselves and the more we are motivated by selfish interests, the worse this world will become.
I think it is a pretty popular thing today to say “The world needs to change.” A lot of people, especially a lot of people in my generation, say that the world is not perfect and that a lot of things need to change. There are many people who have set out to “change the world,” myself being one of them. And it’s completely true: the world does need to change. But attempting to eradicate poverty, homelessness, disease, war, etc will not change the world. It might on the surface for a while, but the root causes of these evils will still be there, and will generate them again before long. It is humanity’s self-focused, hardened hearts that need to be changed. Until we are made aware of our selfish nature and are constantly fighting against it, the world will not change much. The politically correct position of acceptance will continue to grow and compassion for people will continue to decrease – even as humanitarian organizations grow and non-profit work continues to be the fad. As long as the mindset of self is taught, emphasized, and allowed in our culture and in our homes and in our classes, we will say we want to change the world and then in the next breath complain about how we need more money to live the lifestyle we feel we are entitled to. This is a disconnect that must be remedied.
Every day we must fight our natural instinct and tune out the voices around us that tell us to focus on the I, the we, and the me. Maybe we should question more what is right and normal. Maybe we should question what we deserve. Maybe we could not think we are entitled to every penny in this world. Maybe we could give more – maybe we could even give some money, time, and possessions that are “rightfully” ours. Maybe we could look at other people, no matter their race, gender, or economic situation, and consider that they deserve just as much as I do. Maybe I could actually change something about the way I live to better the life of someone else.
“…many who are first will be last, and the last first…” (Matthew 19:30). When Christ walked this earth, He introduced an “upside down kingdom” that messed with people’s heads – He challenged man’s inclination to help himself first, and even asserted that the actual Right way to live was to put all others before yourself. His message was one of service, grace, mercy, compassion, and selfless love – a message that He lived out with every part of His being when He put all of humanity first by giving His life for our’s on the Cross.
It is this selfless mindset we must seek after today. This nature of mercy and grace and peace must daily be put on and sought after as our first inclination, as our outlook on the world. When this is our view, when we are second and other’s first, when we know the love that Christ offers and are therefore able to offer it to the world – it is then that the world will truly be changed.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30
“The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this.”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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