Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Family Should
Overcome Selfishness
Genesis 13: 1-18
Vs. 8 “Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me……..”
Genesis 13: 1-18
Vs. 8 “Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me……..”
Life is full of
conflicts, and people handle them in many strange ways. But how do people of
faith who depend on the Lord handle the conflicts that arise in their
relationships? In Genesis 13 we can see how Abram, a man of faith, resolved a
conflict he had with his nephew, Lot.
Both Abraham and Lot are blessed with an incredible amount of livestock and flocks, so much that the land could not support them both. This put a strain on the land and caused strife between the herdsmen. So Abraham takes the initiative, telling Lot, “we should not be fighting, we are family so let’s separate. Look about you and take what you want and I will take what is left over.” Now this is extremely generous of Abraham. He is the elder family member who had the rights to first choice. This is also the land God promised him, but Abraham had learned that God could be trusted to protect him and to provide for him so he could offer Lot first choice. When you trust that God will take care of you, you can be generous toward others.
Abraham appears to value Lot over the land. He refuses to let possessions trump his love for a person. Part of learning to stand down comes from recognizing the value of people. People matter more than possessions. We may get what we want at times, but in the process lose the person. Are we focusing on possessions and selfish achievements at the cost of relationship? Imagine how many conflicts might be resolved if we focused on relating well to each other.
Selfishness is a word that we are all too familiar. It’s about our tendency to put ourselves, our needs, our plans, our reputations before other people. We notice this when other people are being selfish to us and put their own interests before ours. But we rarely notice when it’s us who are being selfish. Many of us because of our selfishness tend to think more is always better. If we had more money or time or friends, we would be happier and at peace. But quiet often it is not so. We tend to put joy on hold until we obtain some goal that we think we must achieve. But we get there only to find out that our desire is even more. We often pursue for higher positions making ourselves getting home much later, sleeping less, and devoting less time for our family and church.
Both Abraham and Lot are blessed with an incredible amount of livestock and flocks, so much that the land could not support them both. This put a strain on the land and caused strife between the herdsmen. So Abraham takes the initiative, telling Lot, “we should not be fighting, we are family so let’s separate. Look about you and take what you want and I will take what is left over.” Now this is extremely generous of Abraham. He is the elder family member who had the rights to first choice. This is also the land God promised him, but Abraham had learned that God could be trusted to protect him and to provide for him so he could offer Lot first choice. When you trust that God will take care of you, you can be generous toward others.
Abraham appears to value Lot over the land. He refuses to let possessions trump his love for a person. Part of learning to stand down comes from recognizing the value of people. People matter more than possessions. We may get what we want at times, but in the process lose the person. Are we focusing on possessions and selfish achievements at the cost of relationship? Imagine how many conflicts might be resolved if we focused on relating well to each other.
Selfishness is a word that we are all too familiar. It’s about our tendency to put ourselves, our needs, our plans, our reputations before other people. We notice this when other people are being selfish to us and put their own interests before ours. But we rarely notice when it’s us who are being selfish. Many of us because of our selfishness tend to think more is always better. If we had more money or time or friends, we would be happier and at peace. But quiet often it is not so. We tend to put joy on hold until we obtain some goal that we think we must achieve. But we get there only to find out that our desire is even more. We often pursue for higher positions making ourselves getting home much later, sleeping less, and devoting less time for our family and church.
PRAYER
Almighty God, help us to overcome selfishness and take decisions that value people and relationships.
Almighty God, help us to overcome selfishness and take decisions that value people and relationships.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.”― Stephen Kendrick
Rev. Manoj Idiculla, Carmel MTC, Boston
“Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.”― Stephen Kendrick
Rev. Manoj Idiculla, Carmel MTC, Boston