The Inevitable Misery of Living for Yourself

By Colin Smith and Kristen Wetherell

One of the barriers that holds many people back from knowing, being filled with, and being controlled by the love of Christ is the idea that true happiness can only be found if I am free to live for myself.

Living for yourself is the default option for every person. This means that unless something happens to bring about a change. we end up living for ourselves. The Bible says this quite clearly: “All seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 2:21).

I want you to see the absolute misery of this position.

Unhappy Boss

If you live for yourself, you make yourself both the boss and the servant. You put yourself on both sides of the ledger. You are the one who is served, and you are the one who does the serving. The demands you set are the demands you must meet. The experience of the person who lives for self is like “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” and you are always in conflict. 

If you live for yourself, you will be in the strange position of beating yourself up because you are unhappy. See if any of these profiles sound familiar…READ MORE

[Post Credit: The Gospel Coalition]