Selfishly Obedient

      Our continued look at selfishness is, for me, an exercise in self-evaluation. We are not going through these lessons because I am convinced everyone else has a problem. I am convinced that it is my problem. I hope we can, together, overcome this awful sin.

      One of the sad facts with which I have become acquainted is that sometimes even my obedience is motivated by selfishness.

      We have all seen the selfishness in Eve’s first disobedience. But have we ever backed up to notice one of the main reasons why Eve was so susceptible to this temptation? According to Genesis 3:3, Eve was also selfish in her obedience. When she explained why she would not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Eve said that if she ate, she would die.

      Eve was not obedient out of devotion to God, but out of devotion to herself. Thus, when Satan deceived her into believing she would not die and then provided her with good self-centered reasons for eating from the tree, she did.

      The opposite attitude can be seen in Joseph in Genesis 39:9. When tempted by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was able to overcome because he was not focused on preserving his best interests, but on serving God. His great rebuff against the temptation was, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

      Certainly, I believe a healthy fear of hell is good. I am also keenly aware of the times in my life when wanting to preserve my eternity has helped me overcome sin. But I have also come to learn that if that is the only motivation I ever have, then I am easy prey for the devil. I am already wallowing in selfishness, even in my obedience. He must simply dangle something that appeals to me more in the moment than staying out of hell. That, of course, is pretty easy since we so often view death and judgment as something down the road, but temptation is always about right now.

      This is the devil’s view of all of us. Remember when he wanted permission to tempt Job? In Job 1:9-11, Satan explained that Job only served the Lord because he was blessed for serving Him. If all that blessing was taken away, Satan said Job would crumble in sin. Of course, we know the story. Despite his questions against God, he was determined to serve God. His famous statement was, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

      May we have that attitude as well, determined to serve God because we want to serve Him. After all, how can we commit such great sin against One who has loved us so much?

Edwin L. Crozier