consenting selfishness.

Selfishness

a topic that has at first angered me, then suddenly deeply saddened my heart. Let me tell you why.

Being in college and a 20 something girl I hear the same advice given time and time again  

"You're young and in college, be selfish, right now is your time to be selfish!"

Really? Be selfish?

Most likely when I hear this being said, it's from one girl to another. First, I just want to address that if you are even asking for advice because you're in some sort of situation, the problem most likely started because you were already being selfish. So starting with your natural selfishness, having a problem occur because of your selfishness does not mean that a solution will evolve out of more selfishness. That's incredibly ridiculous, you cannot solve a problem by using the same methods that started the problem. If you want to change a certain circumstance or fix a problem, try loving people. 

When we live life for ourselves and live to please our own needs we end up feeling unsatisfied, unwanted and empty. Selfishness will not fill that empty abyss that is your heart. However, if you love others, seek good for others and put them before yourself, well now that is a life that makes sense. 

Of course it all comes down to the condition of a heart. You cannot formulate love in your heart on your own, even if you do manage to do that it is certainly not a love that lasts. We need God to break our hearts of stone, give us hearts of flesh because He loves us and out of that love, we are able to love others. 

May we pray that God would rid any selfishness in our hearts and that we would live as we are called, in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

(1 John 4:9, John 13:34-35)