The Self-Centered Person's Attitude to his Fellowmen - 4

LOVELESSNESS

The self-centered person does not have any real love for his fellowmen and this is the root cause of his hard attitude towards them. He may pretend to show much love, but lacks genuine Christ-like love. The elder son had never gone to his father even once in all those years, volunteering to go and search for his lost brother. He did not care whether his brother was dead or alive. All he was interested in was to make merry with his friends (Lk.15:29). So long as he himself was happy, it did not matter to him what happened to others.

Are we wrapped up in ourselves like that? What is our attitude to backsliders? It is easier to love an unbeliever than a backslider. But if we truly have the compassion of Christ, we shall love both. The younger son in this story is a picture of a backslider. It's easy to condemn him. It is even more difficult to love him and help him. The Bible says, "If a Christian is overcome by some sin, you ho are godly should gently and humbly help him back onto the right path" (Gal.6:1). And again, "If you see a Christian sinning... you should ask God to forgive him and God will give him life" (1 John 5:16). Do we ever pray like that for those who have fallen? No. Why not? Because we are so centered in ourselves.

When we seek for a deeper life and a closer walk with God, let us never forget that a deeper life should make us more outgoing. God does not grant us a closer walk with Him merely for us to "make merry with our friends." It is so easy for us to get into our little holy huddles (with those who believe as we do) and to think of our enjoyment alone - all the time looking down on those who have not had our "deeper life experience". That is not the deeper life at all. That is self-centeredness under the guise of spirituality; and it is an abomination to God.

Let us not be deceived. If we are only interested in "making merry" (even though it be spiritual merry-making) with other members of our "spiritual clique", and are unable to fellowship with believers who do not see eye-to-eye with us, then we are indeed in a state of spiritual stagnation. The Bible says, "He who does not love his brother is abiding in death" (1 John 3:14). The word translated "love" in this verse is the Greek word "agapao", which means "to value, to feel a concern for, to be faithful to, and to delight in". And so this verse really means that if we do not value our brothers and sisters (even those in other denominations than our own) if we do not feel a concern for them, then, in spite of all our Bible knowledge and our spiritual experiences, we are in a state of spiritual death.

THE PRIMARY MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We may be young or old, holding any doctrine of "holiness", with any number of experiences and blessings to our credit, but self dies hard, I'll tell you that. We must know what it is to take up the cross daily and follow Jesus if we are to live in victory over self. There is no other way.

But let us remember in the meanwhile, that the Holy Spirit has come to help us put our self-centered life to death. The Bible says, "We naturally love to do things that are just the opposite to the things that the Holy Spirit tells us to do; and the good things we want to do when the Spirit has his way with us are just the opposite of our natural desires. These two forces (our self-life and the Holy Spirit) are constantly fighting each other to win control over us" (Gal.5:17)

In these days, particularly, when many Christians are confused about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is good for us to bear in mind that He has come as a Helper to help us put to death the deeds of the flesh (the self-life). He does many other thing in and through us. Let us not despise any of them. But if we do not allow Him to put our self-life to death, then all our experiences are valueless.

The Bible says, "If you live after the flesh, you will die, but if you through the Spirit put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live - for as many as are led by the Spirit are the sons of God" (Rom.8:13,14).

In the parable in Luke 15, we notice that the father's love was the same for both his sons. He did not love the elder son any less than the younger. He came out of his house for both his sons. When his younger son came home, he went out of the house to welcome him, and when his elder son refused to come into the house, he went out to invite him in too. In fact he even tells him, "Son, you are ever with me and all that I have is yours." Do you see the largeness of God's heart even towards self-centered individuals? He loves us and wants to give us all that He has. But He has to deliver us from our self-centeredness first.

God does not love the harlot more than the self-righteous Pharisee. He loves both equally and He gave His Son to die for both. But the response in the hearts of the two may be different; and that is what makes the difference ultimately in the Father's house. The younger son who was once away from the father's house is now sitting at the table enjoying his father's riches. The elder son who had been inside all along is now outside. Truly, as the Lord said, many who are first now will be last in eternity, and many who are last here will be first there. It is only as we are willing to humble ourselves and acknowledge our corruption and respond whole heartedly to the Father's love, that we shall be able to feast with Him at His table.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, this is the final session on 'the Self-Centered person's Attitude". Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I had the pleasure to share these words to you all.

The above portion has been an extract from the book "Beauty for Ashes" by Zac Poonen. Please provide me with your valuable comments. Also please keep this pitiful sinner in your prayers always.

Thanks

Your brother and friend in Christ always

Jobin

The Self-Centered Person's Attitude to his Fellowmen - 3

PRIDE

The self centered person has an exalted opinion of himself. The elder son said, "All these years I've worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to." He was proud of his obedient service to his father.Pride arises in our hearts, not because of our virtues and our successes alone, but also because we feel that others around us have not done as well as we. Pride is always the result of a comparison of oneself with others. If others around us were obviously better than us, we would never feel proud. If there had been another brother in this story who had served the father more faithfully than the elder son, the latter could not have felt proud at all in the presence of the other. But here, he felt, he could compare himself favorably with his younger brother. "I have served you faithfully," he tells his father, "but look at this younger son of yours. What has he done? He has wasted his money on harlots."

It was through pride that Lucifer fell. He compared himself with other angels and felt that he was wiser, more beautiful and more exalted than them all. He was the anointed cherub, but he became the Devil. Since then, many others have lost God's anointing in the same manner. You may be like an angel, but pride can turn you into a devil in a moment.

This was the disease that the Pharisees were plagued with. Jesus portrayed them accurately in the parable where the Pharisee prays, "Lord, I thank Thee that I am not like other men.I fast and pray and tithe etc." The self is like that. Sometimes, however it can be more subtle - as in the case of the Sunday-School teacher who, after teaching this parable to her class, prayed, "Lord, we thank Thee that we are not like that Pharisee." We laugh at that because we imagine that we are not like that Sunday-School teacher!! Like the layers of an onion, spiritual pride is deeply and subtly entrenched within us-even at times cloaked in a false humility, which is the worst form of pride!

The self-centered Christian worker is not necessarily one who goes about with an overbearing attitude. He has plenty of false humility on the exterior, a pious lowly appearance and "humble" talk. But inwardly, he compares himself with others and glorifies in his goodness and greatness and "humility"!

CONDEMNATION OF OTHERS

Such comparison of oneself with others finally leads to condemnation of others - sometimes with harsh sarcastic expression.

Listen to what the elder son tells his father: "This younger son of yours has wasted your money on harlots." Who had given him that information? No one. He had merely assumed the worst.

When you hate someone, it is easy to believe the worst possible things concerning him. How the elder son delighted to expose his younger brother's faults instead of covering them.

Do we see only the faults in other people? Have we secretly delighted in seeing another fall- particularly if he was one whom we did not like?

Our hearts are so wicked that when other people fall, it does not grieve us entirely. On the contrary we are slightly pleased, for it shows us up as better men. Such an attitude is characteristic of a self-centered person.

Do we judge the motives of others? The self-centered person sees someone doing something and says to himself, "I know why he's doing that," and proceeds to impute such carnal motive to the action.

How much the self-life takes upon itself - even to sit upon the throne of God (for after all, it is God alone who can judge the motives of others). Paul wars us, "Be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether someone is a good servant or not. When the Lord comes, He will turn on the light so that everyone can see exactly what each one of us is really like, deep down in our hearts. Then everyone will know why (the motive with which) we have been doing the Lord's work" (1 Cor. 4:5). Only when the Lord returns (and not till then) will we know the real motives of each person.

The above topics have been taken from Beauty from Ashes by Zac Poonen. Hope you all have enjoyed reading it. Please post your comments and also anything that you would like to share.

Please keep me, a sinner in your prayers

Jobin George   

The Self-Centered Person's Attitude to his Fellowmen - 2

Hindering Younger Workers

A self-centered Christian leader hinders others below him from becoming leaders, lest his own position be threatened. And so he ministers in such a way as to make himself a necessity to those to whom he ministers. This is utterly contrary to God's will. Oswald Chambers once said that anyone who made himself a necessity to some other soul had got out of God's order. God alone is the only absolute necessity to any human soul. May none of us ever try to take His place.

No one is indispensable in Christ's church. God's work can easily carry on without us. In fact, it can carry on much better without the help of those conceited folk who consider themselves indispensable! We must recognize this fact constantly. I once read of a prescription to humble the soul of anyone who considered himself "indispensable"! It was suggested that he fill a bucket with water and put his hand in it up to his wrist - and then pull it out. The hole that remains in the water will be a measure of how much he will be missed when he is gone!! Our gifts are useful to the church; but no-one is indispensable.

We must be willing to withdraw into the background anytime God calls us to. But the self-centered Christian worker will never accept that. He will want to hold on to his position for as long as possible. Many such "Christian leaders" are rotting away on their "thrones" today, hindering the work of God. They do not know what it is to fade graciously into the background and let someone else take their place.

You've probably heard the saying that success without a successor is a failure. Jesus recognized this and trained people to carry on His work. In 3 1/2 years He trained others to take over the leadership of His work. What an example for us to follow!

Paul recognized the necessity of training other people to carry on the work. In 2 Timothy 2:2, he told Timothy, "What I have committed to you, I want you to pass on to other people who will in turn be able to train others (the fourth generation)"(Paraphrase). What Paul was saying in effect was, "You must ensure that you commit this treasure to others. Don't ever hinder people younger than you, from coming up." Even businessmen recognize the principle that "success without successor is a failure". But many Christian leaders haven't recognized it. Truly, "the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."

It is indeed nothing but self centeredness that makes a man jealous of someone younger who can do things better than he can. Cain was jealous of the fact that God had accepted Abel but rejected him. If Abel had been older than him, that might have been tolerable. But it was the awful fact that his younger brother was better than him that made him furious enough to slay Abel.

We see the same in the case of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph received divine revelations, and that made all his ten older brothers green with jealousy - so jealous that they wanted to kill him.

King Saul was jealous of young David, because the women sang, "Saul has slain thousands while David has slain ten thousands." From that day he determined to kill him. Man's history - and alas, the history of Christian church too -  is filled with the same story over and over again.

Likewise, the elderly Pharisees were jealous of the popularity of the young Jesus of Nazareth and determined to get him crucified, at any cost.

On the other hand, what a refreshing contrast it is to look at a man like Barnabas in the New Testament. He was a senior worker who took the newly-converted Paul under his wing, when no one else would accept Paul. Barnabas brought him to the church in Antioch and encouraged him. In Acts 13, we read that Barnabas and Paul went out together on a missionary journey. And when Barnabas saw that God was calling this junior worker, Paul, to a larger ministry than his own, he willingly stepped back and graciously faded into the background. And the phrase, "Barnabas and Paul" changes almost unnoticed to "Paul and Barnabas" in the book of Acts. The Christian church suffers today, because there are few like Barnabas who know what it is to step back and let another be honored. We are willing to step back in matters of no importance. When passing through a door, for example, we don't mind stepping back and permitting another to go through first. But in things that matter - such as position and leadership in the Christian church - we are not so ready to step back. Our self-life is so deceitful. We can have a false humility in things that don't count. But it is in important matters that we see ourselves as we really are.

The above is an extract from the book "Beauty for Ashes" by Zac Poonen.

Please keep yourselves updated for "The Self-Centered Person's Attitude to his Fellowmen - 3 - Pride".

Please keep me in your prayers

Yours in Christ

Jobin George

The Self-Centered Person's Attitude to his Fellowmen - 1

Jealousy and the love of honor

When our relationship with God is strained or broken, it invariably affects our relationships with our fellowmen. When Adam was cut off from the life of God, he immediately lost his love for Eve too. When God asked him whether he had sinned, he accused his wife and said, "Lord, the fault is not mine. It is this woman's."

Jealousy is one of the characteristics of the self-centered life in its attitude to others. The elder son (in the parable) was jealous of his younger brother and this was what made him angry. All these years the elder son had been the undisputed heir in the house. The servants had bowed to him. But now his position is threatened. Someone else is now the center of attraction in the house. And he can't bear to see this. Jealousy, that green-eyed monster, was quick to rear its ugly head in his heart.

The self-centered life loves to be noticed by others. It loves the praise of men, and is evidently delighted when it is the sole object of admiration. It loves the highest place and draws attention to itself perpetually in one way or another. The self-centered Christian looks for opportunities to tell others of what he has done for the Lord - perhaps in a very pious way but secretly expecting their appreciation.And he is unhappy and uneasy when someone else succeeds or has done something better than he has.

The self centered Christian does not know how to take the second place graciously and joyfully. He is upset when someone else is given the leadership and he himself has to play the second fiddle. The only time that he is willing to take the second place is when he knows that thereby he can step into the first place at the retirement of the leader!

Self centeredness in a man makes him draw the attention of others to himself, even in the most sacred of activities - whether it be preaching a sermon or even praying to God! A self centered Christian leader will hinder the spiritual growth of those to whom he ministers - for he draws people to himself and not to Christ. A true man of God will always draw people beyond himself to Christ. This is what God calls each of us to do. But how few actually do this.

The Self-centered Person's Attitude to God - 2

Let us continue where I left off last month. Sorry for the delay.

UNTEACHABILITY
Another characteristic of the self centered life is its unteachability. When the elder son was angry and stood outside the house, his father came out and entreated him. But he was stubborn and refused to listen.

Truly, "it is better to be a poor but wise youth than to be an old and foolish king who refuses all advice" (Eccl. 4:13). The one who feels that he knows everything and is therefore unwilling to learn from others is indeed in a  sorry state.

The self centered individual is so sure that he is right that he is unwilling to accept correction. And so he does not like being criticized. Our spirituality is perhaps never so tested as when we are opposed and contradicted.

A. W. Tozer has said that when we are criticized, the only thing that should concern us is whether the criticism is true or false, not whether the person doing the criticizing is a  friend or an enemy. Our enemies often tell us more truths about ourselves than our friends do.

An unyielding, headstrong disposition is a  sure mark of the self centered individual. And let us remember that a rigid, self-defensive attitude towards our fellowmen is indicative of a similar attitude in our hearts towards God. If we are unwilling to be taught and corrected by our brethren (even by the youngest among them), it on;y shows how wrapped up in ourselves we are, in spite of all our spiritual experiences and our Bible-knowledge.

The father pleads with the elder son, but the latter is hurt and filled with self-pity. The self centered Christian loves to be coaxed and humored and petted like a little child - even by God. God has to keep on pleading with such persons, but they do not listen easily. Ultimately, they may find themselves, like the elder son, outside the Father's house altogether.

Do you see how horrible the heart of man is!

The above lesson has been taken from the book "Beauty from Ashes" by Zac Poonen.

Please keep yourself updated for the next part of "The Self-centered Person's Attitude to his fellowmen". The next part will be posted by Saturday. Please do keep me in your prayers.

The Master's Voice

John 10:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Today, I will be explaining about the topic through a story, a fictional or a real one, that's upto you to decide... Well for starters, its not my story, but its a story of every human being, its a story about a voice that is always calling us... So read the story and find out.... It is a story that I found on the net and am using it to explain myself to you...

***

Dad loved to fly fish, and it wasn't necessary for him to have a friend along. He thrived on the solitude, the quietness, the beauty, the "swish" of the line from his reel, seeing how close he could put his fly to "that dark shadow under the tree across the river -- they'll be hiding in the shade by that stump." They? The bluegill. The goggle-eyed perch. The smaller fish, but real fighters. You knew when one was on your line!

He had gone to Blackfork and was heading home . . . alone. The roads were made for four-wheel drive vehicles and would have been an exciting challenge, but four-wheelers weren't around when Dad was here, so he drove the old black Pontiac slowly, carefully, lingering, still enjoying his own private forest.

It was then that he spotted the deserted campsite. There was a cleared place where the tent had been staked, a deep hole that had been used for ice, and a burned-out campfire. And there was something else -- a little black-and-brown dog sitting forlornly and expectantly by the pile of rocks that had bordered the fire.

Dad got out and made friends with the dog, sizing up the situation pretty quickly. The dog had no doubt been exploring and wasn't around when time came to break camp and head home. (I can imagine how they had waited and hoped and whistled and called and finally left . . . without him.) It seemed like the dog knew that Dad was his last chance, so he hopped into the car and they headed for Poteau together.

We were "dogless" at the time (a rarity), so seeing the lost dog in Daddy's arms was a real thrill for us. He was a small terrier with wiry black hair and tan feet. His tail hadn't been bobbed and the tip was tan like his feet. With his ears up, he was not over a foot tall. He let us hold him and love him, sensing perhaps that this was going to be his new home. We tried every name that we could think of, but we just couldn't excite him. He answered best to a two-syllable name, so we finally called him Sonny.

Dad put an ad in the LeFlore County Sun: "Dog found at campsite on south end of Blackfork River. Call 410 to identify." When a call would come, he would always ask the caller to describe his or her dog, but Sonny never fit the bill. We were so glad, because he had won our hearts. His master had obviously spent time playing with him and training him; one of his favorite pastimes was knocking a pop bottle around with his nose and playing with it like a ball. Sonny had accepted us and we had accepted Sonny. He was part of the Hoyle family.

Then one day Dad called to say, "Honey, we've got a young man here who thinks the little dog is his. I'm sending him out to let him see Sonny."

I was at home by myself and didn't know quite how I could face someone coming and claiming Sonny, taking him away. I put him on the back porch and closed the kitchen door.

Our front door opened into a hallway. The first door on the right was to our guest bedroom, the immediate left to the living room. The living room and dining room were one large, long room, with a door at the end of the dining area that opened into the kitchen; the door to the back porch was in line with that door. The divan had been placed as a divider between the two areas. Sonny could go around the divan or crawl under it, but it was too high for him to go over.

A knock on the front door. I didn't want to go. I dreaded it, but knew I had to. The young man at the door stood on crutches -- you could tell they had been his lifelong companions. He introduced himself and I ushered him into the living room -- right at the front end by the piano. We talked a moment, then I suggested that he call the dog when I opened the door to the back porch so we could see what kind of response he would get. He agreed. When I opened the door, Sonny was playing with a pop bottle.

Suddenly there was a short, clear whistle and a call: "Patrick!"

Sonny froze and tilted his head to one side, the abandoned pop bottle rolling toward the wall. Then again, the whistle and that name, "Patrick!"

Patrick scratched at the linoleum floor with his little short legs, trying to get traction, and then he started running -- through the dining table legs, over the top of the divan and, with one wild leap, into the outstretched arms of his master, who was ready . . . balanced . . . watching anxiously with tears on his cheeks. He grabbed that little dog and held him so close and tight! Patrick knew his master's voice.

* * *

I hope I did justice to that story. It's one of my favorites. Why did I tell it? Because I want to talk about who we are and who God is. We are Patrick, and we have a Master who loves us more than we can possibly comprehend. Oh, Patrick was surviving with us, but his heart was still with the person who loved him, played with him, trained him, and drove 160 miles over a crooked, narrow road to claim him and identify him as his own.

Do you know who you are? Do you know that those arms are outstretched, that He is standing and waiting, with a tear-streaked face, for you to run and with "one, wild leap" jump into His arms? Do you know that you are totally and completely loved? Oh, you may be surviving in your present surroundings, entertaining yourself with your "toys," but are you separated from the One who loves you so much that He gave His life for you?

Knowing who you are brings a confidence into your life that cannot be taken away. Jesus got down on His knees, on the floor, and washed the feet of the disciples. How could He humble Himself to that degree? Well, John 13:3 tells us: "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God. . . ." Jesus knew two things:

1) who He was; and

2) that He was passionately loved by His Father.

You may label yourself an engineer, a librarian, a business mogul, a student, an accomplished vocalist, a devoted mother, a retired banker, an executive secretary, or a wife above reproach. Any of those things could be gone in the twinkling of an eye. Now, who are you? There is only one identity that is unshakable; one identity that is for eternity; one identity that will never fail you. That is your identity in Christ.

Patrick's story has limits, I know. It's a sweet little dog story, more for children than for mature adults. But are you sure you know what the story is saying? Perhaps you need to become "like a little child." And don't look at the obvious limits; look at the incredible possibilities. Patrick knew his master. Patrick knew who he was. That filled his heart with joy, his life with purpose.

Whatever you have in your hands, let it go. Then kind of tilt your head and listen. Did you hear that whistle? Sharp. Clear. And you recognize the voice, don't you? Okay. Start scrambling. Run. Faster. Go under and over the obstacles, no matter how tall they seem to be. Then jump! He's watching . . . He's able to catch you . . . and His arms will gather you close and hold you, and you'll be back where you belong.

The Self-centered Person's Attitude to God - 1

LEGALISM

The attitude of the self-centered life to God and to His service is characterized  by a spirit of legalism. Self can try to serve God. It can be very active in such services too - but it is always legalistic service. It seeks a reward for the service it offers to God. "I have served you all these years," the elder son tells the father, "but you never gave me a kid." He had served his father for reward all along, but it had not been evident until now. This moment of pressure brought out the truth.

That is how self serves God - not freely, joyfully and spontaneously, but hoping for a return. The return expected may even be some spiritual blessing from God. But service done with such a motive is legalistic and unacceptable to God.

The elder son considered his father hard and cruel for not having rewarded his service during all those years. He was like the man who was given one talent, who came up to his master at reckoning time and said, "I've kept your talent safe (without trading it for profit), because I was afraid (you would demand my profits) for you are a hard man to deal with"(Luke 19:21). Self considers God to be so difficult to please, and so strives to do God's service and still condemns itself for not having satisfied the requirements of such a "demanding" God!

That is not the type of service that God expects from any of us. The Bible says, "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). In the matter of service too God delights in one who serves cheerfully, neither grudgingly nor of necessity. He would rather have no service at all, than reluctant service. When one serves for reward, it is but a short while before he is complaining to God that he is not being blessed sufficiently. The matter becomes worse when someone else is more blessed than him.

Do we ever compare our work and blessing we receive with that of others? This can only be the result of legalistic service. Jesus once told a parable about some labourers who were employed at different hours of the day by a certain man. At the end of the day the master gave them each a denarius. Those who worked longest cam up to the master and complained saying, "How can you give us the same wages as these other people? We deserve more". These people had served for wages - and when they got what they had agreed for, they complained that others should not be given as much as they (Matt.20:1-16).

This is exactly what we see in the elder son. He says to his father, "How can you give all this to my younger brother. I am the one who has served you faithfully, not he".

When the Israelites served God grudgingly, He sent them into captivity as He had told them He would: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart... therefore you will serve your enemies" (Deut.28:47). God has no pleasure in legalistic service.

Self-centered Christians often serve God in order to keep up an impression of spirituality in the eyes of others. It is not pure and fervent love for Christ that keeps them active in Christian work, but the fear that others will consider them unspiritual if they do nothing. And when these people choose an easy path for themselves and one that bring them financial gain, they try so hard to convince everybody that God has led them that way! Wherein is the need for such self-justification, unless there be the secret fear that others may now think less of their spirituality! What strain and bondage there is in serving God like that.

What joy and liberty there is in service that springs out of love fro Christ! Love is the oil that lubricates the machinery of our lives so that it doesn't creak or groan! Jacob labored for seven years in order to obtain Rachel. And the Bible says that those seven years "seemed to him just as a few days, because of his love for her" (Gen.29:20). So will it be with us, when our service for God springs out of love. There will be no strain and no drudgery.

The above lesson has been taken from the book "Beauty from Ashes" by Zac Poonen.

Please keep yourself updated for the next part of "The Self-centered Person's Attitude to God"

The Corruption of the Self-Life 2

Recognizing the evil within

God often allows times of pressure to come into our lives to bring up from within us our corrupt self-life, so that we begin to see ourselves as we really are. It is fairly easy for us to consider ourselves spiritual when our circumstances are easy. When we have no problems to tackle, when no body is irritating us, when things are going smoothly and our co-workers are congenial, we can deceive ourselves concerning the real state of our hearts. But wait till we get a co-worker who irritates us, or a neighbor who annoys us all the time, and the veneer of spirituality disappears. Our self-life will then manifest itself in all its ugliness.

This was what happened to the elder son. When his younger brother was honored, he got upset. No one would ever have thought that this elder son could have behaved so peevishly. He had appeared such a nice person all along. But he hadn't faced pressure like this before. Now, his real nature was manifested. It was not the provocation at that moment that made him evil, no, the provocation merely brought up to the surface what was within all the time.

Amy Carmichael has said, "A cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted". If bitter water comes out of our lives and our lips, it is because it has always been there. It is not the provocation or the irritation that makes us bitter or unspiritual. They only bring out of us what is already within. And so it should make us deeply thankful to God that He allows such times to come upon our lives when we see the corruption of our natures. If it were not for such occasions, we might never realize that there is a fountain of corruption within us, and that not one good thing dwells in our flesh.

This also teaches us that suppression is not victory. One person may explode in anger in a trying situation, while another, (with a little more self control), in a similar situation, may only boil inwardly, without any steam escaping through his lips! In mens's eyes, the second person may have a reputation for meekness. But God who sees the hearts knows that both men boiled within and considers both equally bad. The difference in their external conduct was merely a result of different temperaments, which matter nothing to God.

Suppression is not victory. God does not want us merely to appear delivered and spiritual - but to be actually delivered. Paul said, "It is no longer I, but Christ Who lives in me" (Gal.2:20). This is the point to which God wants to bring us.

In the next article, let us look at the characteristics of the self-life in two aspects.

1. Its attitude to God, and

2. Its attitude to its fellowmen

We see both of these illustrated in the story of the elder son.

The above lesson has been taken from the book "Beauty from Ashes" by Zac Poonen.

The Corruption of the Self Life - 1

We can never enjoy deliverance from our self-life before we see something of its total corruption. We all are familiar with the famous parable of the Prodigal Son. We have always learnt what not to do in life to become a prodigal son/ daughter. But we sometimes forget that if our Lord had ever said a parable, He includes a particular person for some purpose and He is teaching us some important lessons through that person. So now let us look at the elder son (in Luke 15), for he illustrates, perhaps better than anyone else in the Bible, the utter rottenness of the self-life.

The younger son in the parable is usually considered the worse of the two boys. But as we look more carefully at the elder brother, we will discover that in God's eyes, he was just as bad, if not worse. True, he did not the same sins as his younger brother. But his heart was crooked and self-centered.

Man's total depravity

The human heart is basically the same in every individual. When the Bible describes the human heart as deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9), it refers to every child of Adam. The refinements of civilization, lack of opportunity to commit sin and a sheltered upbringing may perhaps have kept us from falling into the grosser sins that some others have fallen into. But we cannot, on that count, consider ourselves better than they. For if we had had the same pressures they faced, we would have undoubtedly ended up committing the same sins. This may be a humiliating fact for us to acknowledge, but it is true. The sooner we recognize this fact, the sooner we shall experience deliverance. Paul recognized that no good thing dwelt in his flesh (Rom.7:18). This was his first step to freedom (Rom. 8:2).

We human beings look at the outer appearance of man and call some good and others bad. But God knows all our hearts, He looks at the heart and sees all men in the same condition. The Bible teaches the total depravity of all men. Consider Romans 3:10-12, for example: "There is none righteous, (and just in case we think its an overstatement, it continues to say), no, not one. There is none that understand, there is no one who seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is no-one who does good, no, not one." Romans 3:10-20 is a summing up of the guilt of all humanity - of the irreligious as well as the religious. 

In Romans 1:18-32 we have a description of "the younger son"- the externally immoral and godless man. In Romans 2, we have a portrayal of "the elder son"- the religious man who is just as bad a sinner. After having described these people, the Holy Spirit sums up by saying that both groups are alike guilty. There is no difference between one and another.

Man is indeed totally depraved; and if God does not reach down and do something for him, there is certainly no hope for him.

Self-centeredness

The elder son (Luke 15:25-32) can be taken to symbolize a Christian worker. If the father in the story is a type of God, it would be only fair to consider the son as a type of an active Christian- for we see him in the parable coming home after a day's work in his father's fields. He was no lazy young man, sitting at home and enjoying his father's wealth. He was a person who worked hard for his father, one who apparently loved his father more than his younger brother did- for after all, he did not leave home and waste his father's wealth, like the latter. He was apparently more devoted, but actually, was just as selfish as his younger brother. It is a picture of a believer active in the Lord's work and apparently full of devotion to his Lord but still centered in himself.

God created this world with certain laws built into it. If those laws are violated, there will be some form of loss or injury. In the same way, Adam was created to be centered in God. The day he refused God as his Center and chose to be centered in himself, he died, as God had said he would.

There is a lesson here for us:

In the measure in which our Christian life and service are centered in ourselves, in that measure we shall experience spiritual death- in spite of our being born again and in spite of our fundamentalism. And all unconsciously, we shall be ministering spiritual death to others too. We may have a reputation as keen and zealous workers for the Father (as the elder son perhaps had), but we may still merit the rebuke of the Lord, "I know your reputation as a live and active (Christian), but you are dead" (Rev.3:1). This is a tragic but dangerous possibility in Christian work. Many a Christian worker lives on the reputation he has built up for himself. Looked up to by others, he is often unconscious of the fact, that God sees him in an altogether different light. Never having been delivered from self-centeredness himself, he is unable to deliver others- even if he preaches beautifully!

The above lesson has been taken from the book "Beauty from Ashes" by Zac Poonen.

(Next session: Recognizing the evil within. Please keep yourself updated about the posts being written here)

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