A selfless life...Is it possible?

Imagine a world where everyone cared about everyone around them more than themselves. Imagine if the most important thing to you and even your purpose was to do everything you could to help those around you and make the world a better place. Imagine a relationship with a friend or spouse in which you only cared about their best interest and in return they cared only about yours. Wouldn't this world be a much different place, a better place? Would the way decisions are made in our country be different? Would the way we spend our time and money change? Wouldn't everyone be "looked out" for and taken care of by their neighbor?

The call is to live a selfless life, but is that really possible? I mean isn't this world a tough place in which we must fight for our survival and "get ours" or else someone else will take it? We must worry about ourselves, make money, put food on the table and live the life we want to live.

Today's society has trained us that we must win. In order to survive we must strive to be the best we can be in order to better than those around us and thus succeed. We work hard to gain the approval of ourselves but more importantly those around us. Do we really care what happens to our neighbor, or only as long as it does not affect our well being?

This last weekend in church at the Austin Stone, Pasture Matt Carter made a very interesting analogy between the Holy Trinity and the way we are called to live our life. He pointed out numerous examples of how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit interact with each other. They are selfless, praising of each other and not self, they have the utmost respect for the other and are constantly sending all the praise outward. They are not self seeking but rather are always assisting the other. This interaction is perfect in every single way and provides a model for how we are called to live out our lives.

One would argue "how could I do that when no one else is living like that", and rightfully so but isn't the Lord our God our provider? Does He not promise to give us everything we need and more?

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"~Mathew 6:26

I would imagine that living a selfless life would be somewhat contagious. We cannot stand around and wait for someone else to step up and start the trend. We must take a stand and begin living as we are commanded. We are more valuable in God's Kingdom than the birds, so we best start acting like it!

-EC