Phil 2:21
For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. NIV
People have been putting their own interests ahead of God’s since the world was created. Starting with Adam and Eve and their son Cain, right through to today.
How have people been doing this? Adam and Eve did not want to obey God, they wanted to be ‘wise’, they wanted to do what THEY wanted, so did Cain. He wanted to offer a sacrifice which pleased himself, rather than what pleased God.
God gave Laws for men to follow, but men added to them.(Luke 11:46) They would pray on street corners, with loud voices so that people would notice them and say, ‘Look how Holy he is.’ They wore their clothes in such a way that people would proclaim them to be righteous. The problem was that the inside of these people was not Holy or righteous.
Matt 23:27-28
27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs , which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. NIV
We need to learn from these examples because we are not much different from those people! We want to do what we want and not put Gods will first in our lives. Why do we go to Church? Why do we read the Bible? Why do we pray? Is it to please God or to get something for ourselves? Who are we serving – God or self?
Once again, we do not intend to ‘run’ your life for you. The choices are yours to make, but you need to know all of the facts to make a good decision. Do not just accept what has been written, read the scriptures for yourselves and see what God has said.