Selfishness is Next to Godlessness

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Just a note: this is not the most in-depth biblical article I’ve ever written. In fact, to many it may pale in comparison, but I think it needs to be said. Wanna hear it? Here goes…

We live in the country on a dirt road. Our road is effectively a “short” cut connecting two paved roads so because it might save someone a minute or less, they’ll often use our road to get from one place to another. That’s not the problem. However, it becomes a problem when people go faster than they should because their concern is only for how much time they might save by going over what is considered a shortcut.

People will fly down our dirt road, which not only kicks up a great deal of dust but puts animals and children in danger. We’ve lived here for over two years and in that time, numerous dogs have been killed by cars. I’ve noted previously that we lost a cat too.

I don’t agree with people who allow their dogs to simply roam. Cats are a bit different. Unless you keep a cat in all the time, they’ll wander for to a few miles in what they consider to be “their” territory. Nothing will stop a cat except keeping it indoors. We tried that with Rusty. In fact, we tried everything to keep him from going out but he made life inside miserable. The only time he was happy was when he was outside and would come in to sleep. I enjoyed that boy but would never want another cat like that again, one with so much wanderlust.

Dogs are much easier. On our two acres, I fenced in over one acre and have several gates installed; one across the driveway, one on the side, another on the side near the garage and one at the back. This allows me to get to any part of our two acres without much hassle. It also keeps our dog Buster inside the compound so I don’t have to worry about him wandering along the road and getting hit by a vehicle.

In the time we’ve lived here, there have been three dogs hit by vehicles, the most recent one just last week. I don’t understand why people allow their dogs to simply roam. They often end up chasing cars or not understanding the danger of those vehicles. People can’t stop that quickly and unfortunately, there are some who take delight in running over someone’s pet. I’ve seen people deliberately steer their cars toward a turtle trying to get across the road, or instead of slowing down because there’s a group of turkey vultures feeding on the latest road kill, they just barrel through and the birds don’t have enough time to fly away so there’s more road kill. It’s a bit maddening to me how low some people have sunk in their lives.

But there’s another problem that bothers me. It’s all the litter. When we moved into our current home, I began to take care of the “grass” near the road because it was so overgrown. I came across small black bags of what turned out to be 8 – 12 empty cans of beer. The bag was tied with a neat little bow and simply dropped onto the side of the road. I found these the first time I mowed and the aluminum shrapnel flew everywhere as I was not yet aware that these bags were buried in the tall grass.

I stopped mowing and began searching the area and I filled an entire 40 gallon garbage bag with trash! I thought once I cleaned it up that would be the end of it, assuming that it had piled up over the years. I was wrong. I no sooner cleaned it up when new bags and cans took the place of the old ones. Every week, I was picking up other people’s garbage because they didn’t want to get caught with “open” empty containers. But it was more than that. There were fast food wrappers, cups, and boxes unceremoniously tossed on the side of the road.

I had signs made that simply said, “Please Do Not Litter,” which did not help at all. Either they couldn’t read or didn’t care, because litter continued to be thrown on the road. Many of the things tossed with glass bottles that wound up breaking. So to these litterers, it didn’t matter to them if any wildlife accidentally stepped on broken glass and might get a cut because of it. All that mattered was that they didn’t have to deal with their own garbage.

Eventually, I cleared a good portion of the area just on the side of the road so that if litter was tossed it was immediately noticeable. I was hoping people would see that I was mowing it like a lawn and maybe they’d respect that? Nope, that didn’t work. Finally, I put up trail cameras, one was right above one of the “Please Do Not Litter” signs. This has, so far, finally done the trick. There is very little garbage on the road in front of our house. However, the bags, bottles, cans, chewing tobacco cans, etc., continue to litter the road in other places.

So who does this? What kind of a person litters because they’re too lazy to properly dispose of garbage? In my opinion, this is the mindset of Satan, who literally hates God and His Creation. What better way for Satan to show his absolute disgust and disdain for God’s Creation than to toss litter on the ground and not care what problem it might create?

What is completely ironic to me is that we live deep in the Bible Belt. On Sundays, people in droves attend one of the hundreds of churches in the area. Many others who claim to be Christians never set foot in a church, but are convinced they are “right” with God. I’m not sure how that happens. They never engage in corporate worship with other Christians. They never hear God’s Word preached and they never enjoy true fellowship with other Christians. Many of these people will swear a blue streak if something doesn’t go their way, they have no problem with tossing their litter out of the window of the vehicle as they drive, and in general, their life is all about themselves.

This whole thing may seem inconsequential to many. “Come on, Dr. Fred, get over it. People are going to litter!” Yes, people will break all sorts of laws to suit them, because it’s convenient for them to do so. This is the fallen human condition that Satan takes advantage of with fallen people. It’s born of a self-centered outlook, one that says, “I’m going to do what is convenient for me!” and it doesn’t matter how that affects anyone else. It is THE reason that sin exists in this world at all; selfishness. It’s the same selfishness that caused Eve and Adam to think their way was better. It’s the same selfishness that prompts all of us to do what is best for us at times and not consider the other person.

We met with friends from church for lunch this past Sunday and they live on nine acres. There are other homes around theirs and at the back of their property a development of homes. This past Saturday, one residence decided to have a party and the music was so loud that our friends could hear it and feel it in their chest inside their own home. That’s ridiculous, but the people who were having the party were only concerned about their wants and needs. It didn’t matter to them how their loud noise affected anyone else. They were going to party and that was that!

We all have the tendency to be selfish. It’s in our fallen DNA and this is exactly what Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit is working against. We can either cooperate with Him in that effort as Jesus did, or we can act like Jonah and initially refuse to do what God wants us to do and even try to run from God.

The people who live their lives doing only what is best for them (“I want my dog to roam around and not be fenced in” or “I’ll just toss this beer can here and someone can pick it up because I don’t want to get caught with an open container” or “I don’t want this litter in my car so out on the road it goes”), are thoroughly selfish people who have no concern for others. While they might dress the part of a Christian on Sundays, it’s the rest of the week that tells their story and offers us a glimpse of the reality that is their life.

No one is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes and we’ll continue to make them until the day we are called out of this life. The difference between the self-centered person and the one who seeks to allow God to control his/her actions, thoughts and words is that the former doesn’t think he’s/she’s selfish, while the latter knows it and seeks for God to purify them of that selfishness.

It’s a long road. It’s difficult to constantly be submitting to God and His will. Would you like to know how to start? Of course, being a Christian is the only real starting place but beyond that, James provides extremely practical guidance for the Christian and how to live justly and righteously in a very corrupt, evil world.

There are too many people who give into their own selfish desires. While that certainly can happen with Christians as well, it should be few and far between. In fact, the more mature we become in the Lord, the less selfish we should end up being.

I’m not saying we need to be radical environmentalists. I’m simply saying we need to take care of things, obey the laws, and do what is right. Have you ever noticed when the Left gets together for some rally, protest or environmental

Go out of your way to deny yourself. Do things that your Self is telling you to avoid. Do them in God’s strength. Submit your selfish will to His. Doing so will help us to grow away from our selves and into the maturity that Christ sets before us in His own character and by way of example.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective