Why do you follow God?
At foundation, the proper motivation is self-interest. Many don’t want to believe this. How do you convince them?
Keep asking “why?”
If there is an answer at all to the question of “why?” it must be a reason and it must be a reason for that person. If you can convince a person to keep asking why, he will keep getting closer to the inevitable answer of self-interest.
A couple days ago I wrote about my bold position on self-interest in the Bible. I gave verses that point to one’s own life as the standard of value. One reader responded with a set of verses that seem to deny self-interest. Today I’ll explain one of them: 2 Timothy 3:2.
“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy…”
The verse condemns wicked people for being “lovers of self.”
In light of this verse, should I change my view on self-interest?
Is art a commodity? No, says Mike Cosper. Mainly, it is a gift. This was a major theme of the writing conference: “Word and Words.”
Hosted by Sojourn Community Church, the conference brought together a prestigious group of writers and teachers, including Gregory Thornbury and Mike Cosper.
I advocate Christian Individualism. How can I do that? Many Christians believe Individualism is bad. Many believe it is incompatible with Scripture. Others believe Scripture has little to say on the issue.
It’s a hot topic. In a recent video by The Gospel Coalition, Don Carson said, “The Bible does not go around condemning individualism.” So what does the Bible say?
In a post several months ago, I wrote, “Our mission requires self-denial, but we cannot make self-denial be the mission.”
What do you think about this idea?
A friend commented wisely, saying he doesn’t believe American Christians place too much emphasis on self-denial. We pay lip service to self-denial, but we tend to struggle with self-indulgence.
I agree with his points completely. Surprisingly though, I believe the solution to American self-indulgence is not less Individualism, but more.
