By Greg
Laurie
But mark this: There will be terrible times
in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of
money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy, 3 without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good, 4 treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 2
Timothy 3:1-4
We are
living in a culture that is completely self-absorbed. Consider these stats:
- The Incidence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their twenties as for the generation that's now 65 or older.
- 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982.
- 40% of Millennials believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.
In the 1970s, people wanted to improve their kids' chances, so the "self-esteem" movement was born. We were told that all of the social ills of the day were due to low self-esteem, and that we all needed to learn to love ourselves more.
As one expert said, "The problem is that when people tried to boost self-esteem, they boosted narcissism instead. All that self-esteem leads them to be disappointed when the world refuses to affirm how great they know they are."
So, we enter into our marriages saying things like: "What's in it for me?" and "What about my needs?" This leads to such inane statements as "I'm no longer happy in this marriage," and "I need to find myself!"
Where does this selfishness come from? "Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves" (James 4:1–2 MSG).
This is something the Bible says would be a sign of the end times: "You should know this, that in the last days, there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves . . ." (2 Timothy 3:1–2 NLT).
So, what is the antidote to selfishness? It is selflessness!
Philippians 2:2–8 tells us3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (NKJV)
