February 26
Lev 19:1-20:21 | PS 42:1-11 | Prov 10:17 | Mark 8:11-38
"You can't love others until you love yourself". "God helps them who help themselves". These, along with many other godless and nonsensical quotes fill the world with false and misleading, so- called wisdom, but are so far from the truth. Recently on vacation, as my wife and I were on the beach taking in a sunset, there was a young woman who had set up a tripod with her phone and for close to an hour, she posed, laughed to herself, restarted the video, walked forward, walked away, etc. It was so distracting you couldn't help but take notice. Another day, another woman posed, flipping her hair one way and another, sometimes with drink in hand, others without, taking selfie after selfie. Though our nation seems to be failing in every academic area, there is no shortage of self-esteem. In fact, our society has elevated the pursuit of self above everything else. One's beauty, appearance, academic achievements, career, happiness, etc. have completely ignored being centered on God, others, family, etc. In many ways, this is probably why this pandemic has so effectively shut down society, as personal freedoms have so easily been abandoned. Since self is the ultimate concern, then the preservation of self trumps all other concerns. To many, if self is lost, then nothing else matters. Consider how far this is from that generation who fought so bravely in World War 2. These brave individuals thought so much about others, family, God and nation, that they lied about their age to protect others, and stormed beaches with abandon, knowing the strong possibility that "self" might not make it. Though many like to talk how we have evolved, I'm sad to say, but we have in reality devolved.
When Jesus is asked by a lawyer, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?, He responds in Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”" Notice, He broke the ten commandments into two: the first four which is to love God, and the last six which is to love others. The first He takes from the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:5, the second He takes from Leviticus 19:18. Notice what is missing is the loving of self, as the world teaches. To emphasize this point further we read Jesus' teachings to His disciples in Mark 8:34-36, "When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Jesus' view and the world's are exact opposites.
Each day, each moment I have to decide where my focus will be. I can either be looking inward at myself, outward towards others, or upward towards God. The only one not recommended by God is to focus inwardly. Yes. there must be self-realization and conviction, but this is so that you can become the man or woman of God in your pursuit of God and others. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Jesus modeled this selflessness so clearly as we read in Philippians 2:7, "but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." It is only when we get our eyes off of ourselves that we can read words like in Psalm 42:1-2, and mean it, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" Decide for yourself, for you cannot have it both ways, either hunger and thirst for yourself, or hunger and thirst for God and others. One leads to misery, the other leads to joy, the choice is yours.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: