Are you loving or selfish???

As a Christian, you are commanded to love everyone—the good, the bad and the ugly (John 13:34). It is not an option; you can't pick and choose whom to love. The only choice you have in the matter is whether or not you will obey the commandment. Unfortunately, many believers are in a state of disobedience because their decision to love is based on feelings or on whether their love is returned. That is conditional, human love—it profits nothing. Others fail to walk in love because they believe that it is impossible for them to love as Goes does. They fail to realize that God would never ask anyone to do something that isn't within their capacity to accomplish. Every born–again believer has the ability to walk in love.

When you became born again, you received an "injection of love" from the Holy Spirit, Who came to live inside of you. As a result, you have an anointing, or God—given ability that makes it possible for you to love in a supernatural way. You can show affection toward others despite their actions. In addition, you are more than capable of retaliating the right way, which is according to the Word of God.

Nothing in your life—finances, family, healing and so on—will work to its fullest potential until you let go of selfishness and perfect your love walk. To be selfish is to "regard one's own interest;" selfishness is "a devotion to one's own interest." Selfishness and love are the two most powerful forces in existence. When you operate in one of these forces, you short–circuit the other. When you choose to love, you turn your back on selfishness. When you choose to be selfish, you turn your back on the opportunity to express love. There is no middle ground. You cannot love unconditionally and be unconditionally selfish as well.

Selfishness is the root to all sin. Satan knows this. His goal is to get you to take your focus off of God and place it on yourself. This is what he did in the Garden of Eden. After the deception, Adam and Eve were no longer God–conscious; instead they became self–conscious (Genesis 3:1–5). Another important point to remember is that the root of selfishness is fear. Fear is what motivates you to protect yourself. That is why a selfish person is constantly in self–preservation mode.

I know it's not easy to respond the way Christians are supposed to, especially when someone is in your face saying hurtful things; however, Proverbs 15:1 encourages believers to respond with a soft answer to curb someone's wrath. When you speak kind words to someone who may be mean as "hell," you are creating an opportunity to love the hell out of them. Additionally, don't rehearse negative thoughts; disperse them instead. Make a conscious effort to think thoughts toward others that are honest, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Something powerful happens when you are willing to lose sight of yourself to put somebody else in focus.

The way to get rid of selfishness is to get rid of fear. First John 4:18 says that perfected love casts out fear. Fear is dangerous. It opens the door for the Enemy to come in and wreak havoc in your life. It also produces negative forces like offense, strife and unforgiveness. However, love empowers you to the point that you will be slow to take offense and quick to forgive.

Keep in mind that when you fail to develop in love, you fail to develop in character, which means you perpetuate a lifestyle of selfishness. God is looking for people of character. That is what being a Christian is all about—developing the character of God. Make a quality decision today to develop the character of love, because that, more than anything else, is crucial to your experiencing the fullness of God.




— Dr. Creflo A. Dollar