One Bad Apple
Whose interests do you look out for?
Is it selfish to be concerned with your own interests above the interests of others?
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:3-4
Paul tells the member of the church in Philippi that they need to put the interests of others first, and that they should consider others to be better than themselves.
How many of us do that? Wouldn't we be taken advantage of if we did that?
The problem with putting others first is that it makes us so vulnerable, and who wants that?
Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if there was no such thing as selfishness. How would it function?
Would we all be content with what we have and not want what we see others have? Would we work as hard or as long? Would we stop sending our kids to the best schools? Would we ever buy a new car?
What would a football game look like if everyone let the other guy catch the ball?
Would we even need members of congress?
If we all spent our days looking out for the interests and welfare of others and did not worry about ourselves, this would be a messed up world. Nothing would get done.
The only things we would do would be things that helped others, and they would do the same for us.
When we think of a world like that, we imagine a utopia and we say it is not possible. All it takes is one selfish person and the whole model falls apart. One bad apple, as they say, can spoil the whole bunch.
I guess that is what the story of Eden is all about, one bad apple.
So, if it is not possible to live this way, why is Paul trying to get the members of the church to do something that makes them so vulnerable?
While we can't recreate Eden, we can build a community on trust and support for each other. We can humbly accept and welcome one another into our lives and hearts.
Yes, it is risky and it subjects us to all sorts of abuse and ill treatment, but if we truly believe that love over powers evil, and heals wounds, it may just be possible to change one person, and that one apple won't go bad.
More to come...