"If there were ever a word that basically means the opposite of love, it's selfishness. Unfortunately it's something that is ingrained into every person from birth. Almost every sinful action can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.
When a husband puts his interests, desires and priorities in front of his wife, that's selfishness. When a wife constantly complains about the time and energy she spends meeting the needs of her husband, that's a sign of selfishness. But love "does not seek it's own" (1 Cor 13:5)
Loving couples--the ones who are enjoying the full purpose of marriage--are bent on taking good care of the other flawed human they get to share life with. That's because true love looks for ways to say "yes".
Love is never satisfied except in the welfare of others. You can't be acting out of real love and selfishness at the same time. Choosing to love your mate will cause you to say "no" to what you want so you can say "yes" to what they need.
Love also leads to inner joy. When you prioritize the well-being of your mate, there is a resulting fulfillment that cannot be duplicated by selfish actions.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves--Philippians 2:3"
Today's Dare: Whatever you put your time, energy , and money into will become more important to you. It's hard to care for something you are not investing in. Along with restraining from negative comments, buy your spouse something that says "I was thinking of you today".
--if buying something is not feasible right now, you can always save this for a time when you can do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment