"Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."- Mathew 16:24.
It's Sunday, and we need to talk about an important thing in our lives about our Creator. The subject of our conversation is about a man called Mr. "Self", one who lived in this flame we called body. Self is a powerful occupant who wants to take full control of your life. He wants you to think only of him, to care only for him, to feed him only, to serve him, and to live for him for the rest of your life. Once you have agreed to the idea of "Self" you have open the door of sorrow, increase your problems, take away your peace and happiness. People full of “Self” live their lives with sadness and grief. They may make a lot of money, but the real comfort of this life will escape them. Happiness, peace of mind, sleep, and security cannot be found in a selfish person.
I’ve grown to understand that trying to satisfy the “Self” for me is chasing after the wind. "Self" will never be satisfied, the more you give the more Mr. "Self" wants more. And self-centered people continue to feed Mr. 'Self', for such people there is nothing more important than satisfying Mr. 'Self'. This is what is called selfishness, and the person who focuses more on himself or herself is a prisoner of "Self". There will be no freedom, Mr. ‘Self’ always wants to be happy, there is no escape from the self man if he takes control of your life. What's more? Life continues to revolve around this ‘I’ and ‘me’ and this journey continues, hurting many people in their way regardless of their attitude. When the mind is set to work that way, there is nothing more important than satisfying the "Self" in it.
Those whose lives are controlled by the "Self" often do not realize how serious their situation is. Selfishness begets pride, and a proud person considers himself superior to all other people. They will never see their faults as long as their focus is on themselves. Nothing is as important as satisfying Mr. "Self". You will never find a proud, selfish person who is truly happy.
When focusing on your life is about satisfying Mr 'Self', living a happy life becomes a problem. Try to divert this focus from you to others and you will see how fun and happy life is. Too much focus on yourself is the cause of unhappiness and bitterness in this life. It is a self-inflicted punishment. The more comfortable you are at living your 'self' life, the more lonely and miserable your life will be. The more focus on 'Self' the saddler life will be with a growing hatred for others.
Enmity, fighting, and revenge only occur when the feeling of hatred has reached its peak! That’s when war breaks out, divisions break out, friendships turn into animosity. The ruins and the misery of this life are the results of the presence of Mr. "Self" in one's life. When self is tamed peace and joy are like a river flowing from the heart. No matter who you are or what you have unless you remove the focus away from 'self' and think for others happiness and peace will be far away from you.
If you want your life to be miserable, make your life a selfish home. Selflessness, on the other hand, is the only thing that can restore your peace and happiness.
People find it difficult to deal with others, especially because of selfishness. It is no wonder that the Lord Jesus in our verse of the bible with which we opened this article asked those who would be followers to consider checking on Mr. Self before checking on the group. It is a lesson that anyone who is too full of himself will not be a good leader. Leadership is about self-sacrifice, and only this unselfish life can make us truly happy in this life.
The world we live in is ruled by greed and hatred because people are so full of themselves. Backstabbing is the result of selfishness, corruption, betrayal, and theft in the office is due to the influence of Mr. 'Self' on this world. Adultery, divorce, broken relationships are due to Mr. 'Self'. If we continue to respect the wishes of Mr. 'Self' we may soon have a world that is not fit for human habitation.
Selfishness is a craving that must be dealt with, we have to take control not by might but by first surrending our lives to the Almighty, with the heart of charity and mercy.