These are a few quotes I have heard recently…
“Putting yourself first is not selfish. Quite the opposite. You must put your happiness and health first before you can be of help to anyone else.”
“When you start sacrificing yourself for other people, you make them a thief, because they are stealing from you what you need and they don’t even know it.”
I see wall hangings often that tell us that in order to be happy, we must put ourselves first. These sayings bother me. You may completely disagree with me. I do feel that people are trying to help us feel better by saying these things, but I believe putting yourself first is not the way. What I hear is “me, me, me”. The actual definition of selfishness is putting your needs above others. So aren’t these sayings selfish?
Above all, I know I need to put God first, not myself. If I were to put myself before God, wouldn’t that be considered breaking the first commandment “You shall have no other gods before Me”? I worry that putting myself first in life would be like having an idol. Jesus said in Matthew 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
In putting God first, I would try to live Christ like. He would help me to exhibit more of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This would make me a better person and give me greater joy. Also, if I were to live like Jesus Christ, I would definitely be putting others before myself. Jesus was the best example there is of selfless love, including dying for our sins.
Not only should I put God before myself, but I think I should also put others' needs ahead of my own. I disagree that this would drain me of what I need. I think that the more I give, the more I have. I am here to serve others. Jesus tells us in Matthew 20:27-28, “and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came no to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I find that many times I have selfish thoughts and reactions. This is something I need the Lord’s help with. I will pray that I put others before myself more often, and most importantly, I will strive to put God very first in my life.
God Bless,
Amy