What’s In It For Me?
From The Message: A Perfect Day For A Murder
We live in a world full of hurt people. All around us are broken individuals, many of which put on a mask while saying “I’m good”. But what if someone that you knew was hurt was right in front of you. Would you help them or carry on because you're too busy?
This sets the scene for a beloved parable: The Good Samaritan. On a road infamous for the dangers of crossing it, we find a Jewish man robbed, stripped, and left half-dead. As he lay there in a pool of blood we see multiple of his relatives pass by without an ounce of compassion. It is only when a Samaritan man- his enemy- comes by that he receives care and medical attention. The Samaritan threw away his prejudice, his assumptions, and his pride to help out the injured man.
The worrisome fact is that society nowadays is trending more towards being like the kinsmen rather than the Samaritan. We are increasingly becoming so self-centered that we don’t even notice people’s problems, let alone offer to help with them. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love is not self seeking. To love someone is to take your eyes off of your own desires to help them, and the DNA of following Jesus is to be full of love.
If we wish to be a generation that represents Jesus, if we wish to see the revival that we’ve been so desperately crying out for, we must take our eyes off of ourselves. We must be like the Samaritan, going beyond our pride & prejudice to serve others. We must love others even when there’s nothing “in it for you”. God is love, and in Him there is no selfishness. If we wish to be like God we must surrender our self-centered nature and put on a genuine, sacrificial love for others.
• If we want to glorify God we must realize that it’s not about us; it’s about Him
• God is love, to be like God we must be full of love
• Love is not self-seeking, to grow in love we must be others-centered rather than self-centered
• A “what’s in it for me” mentality is evidence of a life out of tune with God
