The Many Faces of Fear: Selfishness (Fearless Faith pt. 3)

Fear
     Dictionary.com defines it like this: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. I enjoy using this acronym to describe it. False Evidence Appearing Real. I'm not sure who coined it but it puts a good perspective on it. We all know of the dangers to our flesh and blood but at least for now I'm concentrating more on the emotional fears we all have.
     Granted I strive to rid myself of all fear because it helps me to make a clear minded rational decision about any situation I might find myself in. Besides that most often our fear is just imagined, the monsters under our bed so to speak. Giving it life by acknowledging it is only making things worse.
     God has shown me that fear is a lot of things. Negative faith, negative emotion, and a catalyst for sin. If you fear something you are giving it power to happen. Negative emotions all come from fear. Fear protects pride which promotes sin. All of this I will expound on in the next series of blogs.

Galatians 5:16-26
¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

     I shared this passage with you because it shows clearly the contrast between the fruits of the spirit and the works of the flesh. I like to call it the Fruits of Fear and the Fruits of Love. I will be going over each of these fruits of fear in the next several blogs.

Selfishness
     Selfishness is an emotion that is often times so subtle it goes unnoticed by the untrained eye. We have become numb to it to the point that we don't even realize we are doing it. I think there are many different definitions I could give it but I'd say it's put simplest as the fear of being unhappy.
     We would go to the ends of the earth for happiness. The thing is we sabotage our happiness by our own actions. Fear makes us believe that it's OK to be selfish as Christians. I have found, at least in my own life, that helping others is the only time I'm truly happy. Granted we can't do everything and it is possible to do too much. If we string ourselves out too far we'll be no good to anyone.
     For me one of the greatest joys in life is giving. Even if it isn't much just being able to brighten someone's day gives the "warm fuzzies". The thought crossed my mind that it might even be a good way to combat depression. However if we aren't giving with a cheerful heart it profits us nothing.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8
⁶ But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 

     Selfishness is probably the biggest fear of all because it's the basis for all negative emotion. If we instead look at life through God's eyes and concentrate on being selfless, unselfish, then we have a whole lot less to fear. So in other words, if we set aside the fear of unhappiness and realize what truly makes us happy instead of relying on what we think makes us happy and just give without fear we will ultimately be happier. Fear brings torment. So how long are we willing to torment ourselves before we decide to do something about it?

     This song has to be my favorite at the moment. The line "But a house made of mirrors never helps you see any clearer it's yourself you can't see past" really brings a better understanding to what I'm trying to say. If you've never been in a house of mirrors at a carnival you probably won't fully understand but imagine a maze where all the walls are mirrors. It's hard to see which way to go even though there is only one path. We get stuck because we concentrate on the mirrors, ourselves. We get bumped and bruised because the way is so hard to see. If you were to paint over the mirrors however the result would be far easier. You could walk through the maze without bumping into anything.
     Imagine that our minds are just one big mirror maze. As long as we remain selfish all we will be able to see is ourselves. We'll get distracted by selfish thoughts. When someone asks you for money on the street you make excuses for why you can't give. It's inconvenient, I don't have it, I really wanted that new high tech gadget and if I help this person I won't be able to get it, they'll just go buy booze with it... Yeah we have a million excuses. Granted each situation is different we just have to be open to the guidance of the holy spirit. All I'm saying is selfishness shouldn't be an excuse.

I encourage you to watch the whole thing but if you wish skip to 1:58 and watch for a few seconds. 

     Just like Joyce's 'robot' we all have a tendency to only concentrate on ourselves. This behavior is most often self destructive. It gives a foothold to things that you really don't want in your life if you only knew they were lurking in the shadows. I believe I covered well in the previous part of this series how to best combat this form of fear but if you need more look in the comments section of that post.
     In a nutshell, If we can learn to love others as Christ loved us you won't have much trouble with this. We will be focused on others instead of ourselves and therefore not thinking of ourselves which puts most selfishness behind us. Ulterior motives have no place in love either so when I say thinking of others I mean thinking of others. Not thinking of how thinking of others could help you.
     If we can learn to successfully combat selfishness we won't have much trouble with fear in general.

 Philippians 2:3
 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

     Fear is one of our greatest areas of weakness. If we can identify what areas we are weak in then we can allow God to give us strength to overcome.

2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Love vs. Fear (Fearless Faith pt.2)

     Before you can understand how to combat fear you have to understand God's love. Without love there is only fear. Up until now I'm sure most of us have let fear influence nearly every decision we make. I'll elaborate later but what  if we changed our way of thinking and let love be the deciding factor in our lives?

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

      Love is the absolute best weapon there is against fear. As  Fist John chapter four stated there is no fear in love. If we learn to operate in love, Godly love, then we won't have anything left to fear. Most of us don't truly know what love is. I thought I did until God showed me. True love is unconditional. We as Christians are commanded to love everyone like this.

Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

     The truth is that we cannot truly love anyone until we learn to love ourselves. If we hate ourselves then how can we expect to be able to love our neighbors as ourselves? I'm sure it would set a great example of Christ if we just beat up the next person we see. Yes I'm being sarcastic but people do beat themselves up daily. Mentally of course but still we have to forgive ourselves as Christ has forgiven us and move on. We should begin to see ourselves as he sees us. A child of the living God. 
     Even if we are hard on ourselves sometimes we still know how to love. Most of us think of ourselves more than we would think of a total stranger. I challenge you though to think of at least one person this week more than yourself. I don't mean your wife or kids or even your friends but someone you don't know. Spend a few extra dollars and buy a meal for the person behind you next time you're in a fast food line/drive through. Show God's love in some way to someone. Selfishness is one of the topics I have for later discussion so go ahead and get a head start on your way to becoming selfless. It makes being fearless in your faith a whole lot easier.

Matthew 5:43-48
 ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Luke 6:27-36
 ²⁷ “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. ²⁹ To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ³¹ And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
³² “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ³⁶ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

     As I stated earlier we have to love everyone unconditionally. Even your enemies. This seems like an impossible task for some but I assure you it's entirely necessary. Not only that but once you do your experience in life will be so much greater than you could ever imagine. 
     Do not think that I ask you to do something that I won't do because I have been tested in this as well. I won't go into too much detail but two people come to mind. One person from elementary school who used to bully me I showed kindness to and he ended up being a good friend of mine. The other was a good friend of mine who ended up bullying me along with some of his other friends but I didn't turn my back on him. We remained friends for many more years.


     I can't stress enough the importance of love in our walks as Christians. We should be an example of God's love to the world. How do you think he feels when someone dies that didn't know him? How about what he feels when someone does something that is wrong or dishonest? Better yet how about if one of his children did such an action. I can tell you it's not even comparable to anything we can experience on earth. If he loves everyone that much and we're supposed to be like him then how can we not love everyone as much as he does?
     It's a difficult concept I understand but God sees us all the same he is no respecter of persons. All sin is equal in his eyes even though to us it seems like murdering someone is far worse than lying about something so why should we not allow everyone the chance to enter heaven?
     Of all the books of the Bible I think 1 Corinthians 13 spells out love the best of all. There is no better summation I could write that would be any better than this:

1 Corinthians 13:1-7
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 John 4:8
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:16
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

     So if one doesn't have love and God is love than how can one be saved without it? Such is the same with fearless faith. Without love you have nothing. To put it another way, If we don't learn to love like God loves we'll never learn to conquer fear. We have to forgive and love no matter what. It is not our place to judge or to punish. Only to love.

Romans 12:
 ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 Deuteronomy 32:35

 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.’

     I suppose you could look at these next two scriptures from two different lights. One being that God's love covers all our sins. The other being that if we love one another instead of continuously being angry with one another we will save ourselves from committing a multitude of sins. I believe that if we can truly learn to walk in love that we will no longer struggle with sin. 

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all sins.

1 Peter 4:8

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

John 21:15-17

¹⁵ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

     I bring this scripture up because I just wanted to reiterate the true meaning of the word love. In our society today we use it so much that it has become nearly meaningless. We use it more to say we like something than truly love it. The love a sweet toothed person has for a confection is nothing compared to the love that God has for each and every one of us. I've heard a sermon preached on this passage of scripture in which peter used  different terms for what we call love. It wasn't until Jesus asked him the third time did he truly understood. His final response was Agape. If my knowledge serves me right this was the strongest word for love that the language had. We must strive to be intentional in love and allow God to show us just what it means and how to truly love like he loves.
    God had to teach me this love. It wasn't easy to learn but he showed me just how easy it can be. I could've read this blog one hundred times before and wouldn't have truly understood so I ask that when you start this journey into the love of God that you ask him to show you as he has shown me. 
   I'll leave you with one last scripture. God gave us the spirit of love. We are capable of forgiving and loving the same way God does. We are made in his image and capable of reflecting his light across the world. Matthew 6:15 as well as 18:35 and Mark 11:26 says that if we cannot forgive then we cannot be forgiven.  It takes love to forgive.

 

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.