selfishness
Maybe
the best way to start this topic is with a definition, so that we are all
on the same page.
selfish:
Caring supremely or unduly for one's self;
regarding one's own
comfort, advantage, etc, in disregard, or at the expense, of those of
others.
Another
definition on selfishness can be viewed at this link,
which has
more options, than my customary source for words, whether it be dictionary
or thesaurus.
Before
anyone gets in an uproar over this topic, however, let us state that to be
successful in this world, each must be selfish. No one has ever
heard of anyone starting out in the president's or CEO's office, and
working their way down through the ranks, to the loading dock, or the
cleaning crew. The natural progression of all things is to achieve
more than our parents did, in a general sense of the word, whether it be
legal or otherwise.
But
now let us see what was written about this topic, in the original
anonymous text book.
Selfishness - selfcenteredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, selfdelusion, selfseeking, and selfpity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based
on
self
which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
(bigbook page 62)
This
might make the most unpopular, or even most loathed person on this
planet. Any of you all tired of the media supporting the theory that
most of the people that make global headlines, for days or weeks at a
time, are VICTIMS? Anonymous recovery demands that we always focus
on what we did wrong, rather than what they did. The point is that
self-will got us into some very strange if not precarious positions, or
situations, to say the least.
Here
is a small test. Does everyone know that there is a human self
controlled by our fearful ego, but also there is a divine Self that
is available, if earnest and enthusiastic efforts are practiced, in
anonymous recovery? Do we need to be reminded of the statement made
by Flip Wilson, that is a classic, "The devil made me do it," in
a comedy routine, that caused all of us to laugh until it hurt?
The
divine Self has to
start as the size of a tiny mustard seed, but the other is really non existent,
in the mind of God, no matter how long you try to prove yourself to be in
charge of your own destiny. Anything that is not done through faith
is gone to no-wheres-ville, in the last day of God's creation; it is
an illusion, completely, to God. There are hundreds of millions of
believers, world wide, that will some way be given eternal life, by just
believing. And we are confident that there will not be any worldly
or self-will activities, in that realm.
When
we use the word worldly, we are actually referring to the word secular, meaning,
without God. We believe that God is present, in paradise, the only final
destination that we are aware of, at this writing.
But
let us shift gears minutely, and bring in another subject, that is on the
same tangent, or path as selfish, in our opinion.
Obey the government, for God
is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by
God. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey
God, and punishment will follow. For the authorities do not frighten
people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong. So do
what they say, and you will get along well. The authorities are sent by
God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of
course you should be afraid, for you will be punished.
The
authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those
who do wrong. So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep
from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.
Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need
to be paid so they can keep on doing the work God intended them to do.
Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and
give respect and honor to all to whom it is due.
(Romans 13:1-7)
Several
years ago, it was said, by the Secretary General, of the United Nations,
that illegal drugs make up ten percent of the global economy.
To me that is really frightening.
Friends,
there are six and a half billion people on this planet, by some
estimates. Ten percent of that is over six hundred million souls.
Is it logical to interpolate ten percent of the world economy will engage
ten percent of the world population? There
are under three hundred million humans, here in the United States of
America, total. So, if six hundred million people are in the illegal
drug trade, woe to humanity. It is even believed that some of the
profits from the poppy crop, in Afganistan, supports the terrorists, in
that region.
For
a long time now, it has been my opinion that things are really going to
have to get very bad - absolutely horrendously, grotesquely,
unbelievably, and discouragingly abominable, so that all will have to succumb to
one
scripture's concept of "every knee shall bow," sooner or later:
"Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. And when they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every knee become as weak as water.' It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD."
(Ezekiel 21:6-7 NIV)
Friends,
it is impossible to really understand what the people that experienced the
tsunami in Southern Asia, and the hurricane that hit the northern Gulf
coastal area felt, and are undergoing, but let us thank God, for the
following scriptures, which are applicable, after the rebirth of having
our emotions connected to God, rather than things of this world:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the
new
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars—their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
(The Revelation 21:1-8)
And
beyond the illegal drug stuff, how many are involved in other criminal
activities. Decades ago, an attorney was asked, "Considering
that we can land a man on the moon, how come we cannot even get the
government to admit that there is the Mafia?" Some knew of it
as being the Cosa Nostra. Will not repeat his
pathetic, childish, and greed centered answer, defending the legal community.
And
how about all of the abuse of children, elderly people, men and women by
their spouses, killings, robberies, thefts, ad infinitum. Should we
mention rape, drive by shooting, carjacking, extortions, fraud, hijacking,
kidnapping, blackmail, and the worst, corruption in some governmental
bodies, and only God knows what else?
Do
we need to be reminded, "All things are lawful unto
God?" It does not state that all things are lawless unto God.
Recently,
saw a documentary about all of the increased gang violence that is creeping into the
United States, from Central American countries, and beyond. That is
really alarming.
And
when a documentary was witnessed, on the History Channel, about mafias
from various countries - Russia, India, China, etc., some of which are now
active in the United States, not to mention the
activities
of the Italian mafia, and the illegal drug activity in Colombia, it should
give us grave concern, about how it seems how little prayer is aimed at
all of the above dangerous elements of humanity.
Can
anyone now disagree with this statement, out of the original anonymous
textbook on page thirty?
We are convinced to a man that
alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better.
Surely, we are not the only sick suckers on
this planet, and some might even be sicker! (scribe's note:
seems to me that all of humanity has been getting sicker - worse, since the expulsion
from the garden of eden. how many of us remember that the first
shot out of the box was that cain killed able?)
A
number of old timers have told this scribe that our only hope of being
"restored to sanity" is in our ability to learn how to obey the
laws of our government. That reminds me of a barber, in another
state that told me one day, about twenty years ago, "There are only two classes of
people; the caught, and the uncaught."
Things
really have changed, since I was a child, since most people were not even
concerned about locking the doors to their homes, over sixty years ago.
