Selfishness - Part II

Verse 9: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous,and despised others:”

This is a parable giving an account of a Pharisee and a publican who went to the temple to pray. The following statement is written by Matthew Henry. “Christ designed this parable for the conviction of some who were righteous and trusted in themselves and despised others. They were conceited and had a great confidence in themselves before God, and they despised others thinking they were holier than them.”

 Verse 10: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”

 The two men went to the temple to pray. It was Jewish custom to pray three times each day – one for each sacrifice. Morning, afternoon and evening. It is referred to as “an hour of prayer”. 9 a.m. is the 1^st prayer (Acts 2:15) Jewish time: 3^rd hour (the 3^rd hour from sunrise). Roman time: 9^th hour (Roman time began at 12 midnight). 3 p.m. is the 2^nd prayer (Acts 3:1, 10:9). Jewish time: 9^th hour. Roman time: 15^th hour (this is where our military time comes from).

Verse 11: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.”

a.      “Stood and prayed thus with himself.” – The Pharisees didn’t like to interact with others because they were afraid it would “pollute” them. In other words, they were too good to be around others. It might “lessen” their image. Have you ever encountered anyone like this?

b.      “God I thank thee” – The Pharisee appeared to have religion. Many people today do this. They’ll say one thing and do another. My biggest pet peeve is when I updated the church facebook announcing a service and it will get “likes”, but then those people won’t be at the church services. Wednesday nights are the worst. Then you ask their loved ones who come where the other member is and they can’t get an excuse out fast enough. They will post devotions and scripture all day long but then won’t show up to church. They’re giving the appearance that they are model church members, when in all actuality, Sunday mornings are the only time they come. Hypocrites know the truth, admit it and use it. This is how they create the image of being true. WATCH THEIR ACTIONS. This will explain everything.

c.       “That I am not as other men are” – He was giving the appearance of being holier than thou. In other words, he was saying “Lord, thank you for not letting me be a liar, an adulterer, a murderer, etc.” We have to remember that it is only by God’s grace and mercy that we aren’t in the other person’s situation. Make wrong choices and you could still end up there. It’s ok to thank God for his deliverance, but not at the hands of others.

d.      “Or even as this publican” – In other words, “thanks for not letting me be like this guy over here”. Remember, they were praying aloud. How would you feel if you went to the altar to repent for something you had done and you heard the person next to you saying “Lord, thanks for not letting me end up like so and so…”?

4.      Verse 12: “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

a.      “I fast twice” – Pharisees fasted on the 2^nd and 5^th days of each week in private. This was in addition to the public days of fasting required in the Law of Moses. The Pharisees thought highly of themselves because the two times were in addition to what was required. They did more so they thought recognition was deserved. This Pharisee was expecting to hear “good job”.

b.      “I give tithes of all that I possess.” –In Matthew 23:23 Christ gets on to them by talking about their tithes. Jews were to give one tenth of all their property to the support of the Levites (Numbers 18:20-24). Another tenth paid for the service of the sanctuary (Deuteronomy 14:22-24). Besides these, a tenth was to be given every 3^rd year to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). This was all before their voluntary offerings were made. The Pharisees gave a tenth of everything down to the herbs they grew. These weren’t even mentioned in the Law of Moses. It said to offer their first fruits of the earth. Jesus said they paid attention to the minute details and followed rules strictly but they were overlooking the main point. Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel”. Their actions were all for show. This is similar to people who will go out of their way to outdo someone else. He was boasting before God.

Verse 13: “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

“And the publican, standing afar off.” – The Pharisee stood on the side of the court that was closest to the temple. The publican stood as far away as he could because he was aware that he was unworthy to be on God’s holy ground. The rest of the verse shows the humility and honesty of the publican. He knew he had sinned, it says he wouldn’t even look up to the skies because his guilt was so strong. He was ashamed. For someone to “smote upon his breast” was an expression of grief. He cried out saying “God be merciful to me, a sinner”. He was being honest with God and he didn’t care who heard. His pride didn’t get in the way. He was being honest with God.

Verse 14: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

One man left the temple being justified by God. The other was justified by his peers. His words meant nothing to God because they were in vain. To be abased means to behave in a way that is belittling or degrading. Christ says those that exalt themselves shall be belittling themselves. Those who come to him humbly will be exalted.

Question 1: When you pray, do find similarities with the Pharisee or the publican? Do your prayers focus on you or those that you are burdened for?

Question 2: Would you rather have God’s approval or man’s? 

We also listened to part of a message by Tony Evans called "The Theft of Stewardship". You can find it here: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/the-alternative/listen/the-theft-of-stewardship-400866.html.

I hope you all have a good week :) Next week we'll be going over depression. We'll wrap things up with fear/doubt as our final lesson.

Selfishness - Part I

Other words for selfishness: narrow-minded, egotistical, greedy, narcissistic, self-centered, mean

Selfishness defined: lacking consideration for other: concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.

What are some ways we show selfishness in our everyday lives?

1.      By having a “me first” attitude:

a.      Everyday Example: Our needs and wants come before others. A selfish person would view others only as a way to get something they want. We would call this sort of person a user. They have no compassion for others. They will one up someone with a more serious story, condition, or more dramatic story. They don’t know how to listen and care for others because their focus is completely on themselves.

b.      Spiritual Life Example: Some people view prayer requests and singing opportunities as their time to talk about themselves. It’s more common when the person has missed a few services.

2.      They are manipulative:

a.      Everyday Example: Selfish people fear the possibility of losing control. They will manipulate anyone or anything to remain in control.

b.      Spiritual Life Example: Some people take on too much because they fear that someone else will outdo them. For example, a person who has done VBS for 5 consecutive years might not be willing to let someone else take control. If they do relinquish control, they give up any involvement whatsoever and have nothing to do with the activity.

3.      They are hoarders of time and things:

a.      Everyday Example: Selfish people have a hard time letting go of their time and their things. Hoarders are an example. We get selfish with our time. We find so many things that we have to get done and put our desires before everyone/everything else.

b.      Spiritual Life Example: Giving time to the church. Nothing gets accomplished if people don’t participate. We think our time is precious. Sunday mornings between 11 and 12 aren’t the only time God moves. There’s Sunday School, Sunday night, Wednesday night, camp-meetings, revival, visiting, events, and prayer meetings. It’s sad when we can’t even schedule a revival because people won’t show up. If they don’t come on regularly scheduled times, how can we expect them to come a few nights in a row? We are afraid to give up any of our TV time, our alone time and anything else that will give us satisfaction. We view church as a social event; not a life changing place to get to know one another, praise together, pray together, and worship together. We don’t view the events and extra services as opportunities to fellowship and get/give encouragement or to spread the gospel. We find them to be inconvenient and as intruders of our precious time.

4.      They are pessimistic:

a.      Everyday Example: They put the opinions of others down to make their own more impactful – especially in a group setting. They can’t handle someone else getting any glory for anything that they’re involved in.

b.      Spiritual Life Example: Many times this shows up in event planning. A group is assigned to something but one person in the group will not take in any ideas and they shoot down any that are brought up. They want all the credit for doing something.

How is selfishness described in the Bible?

1  . Paul writes to Timothy in II Timothy 3:1-5 and gives him signs to watch for. It says: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” He says that men will be lovers of their own selves. This is a perfect definition of selfishness. In our time today we see selfishness taking over. It’s all about greed, pride, and personal gain.

2.   In Philippians 2:21 Paul says “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s”. Some will not reciprocate loving deeds because they don’t see it as gaining anything from it. If there’s no recognition for their actions, they probably won’t act.

3.   Philippians 2:4 says: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Galatians 6:2 says “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Paul repeats this several times in his letters. If it is repeated, he wants it to be understood. 

At the end of the lesson we discussed some history for the scripture that we'll cover next week. Our scripture will be in Luke 18:9-14. Here are some things to know before reading the parable:

a.      What is a Pharisee? A Pharisee was one of the three religious societies of Judaism during the time the New Testament was written (Sadducees and Essenes are the other two).  The Pharisees were the most vocal and influential. They focused highly on tradition and ritual. Their name in Hebrew form means “the separated ones”. They were also called “chadisim” which meant “loved by God”. This is ironic because by the time Christ arrived, the Pharisees were the most bitter, and deadly opponents of Christ and his message. They were originated with good intentions, but their selfishness got in the way. Christ gives warning to this group many times in the New Testament. Pharisees you may have heard of: Nicodemus (John 3:1), Gamaliel (Acts 5:34), and Paul (Acts 22:3).

b.    What is a Publican? A tax collector. They were contracted out in their areas by Rome. They could set their own fees and many times overcharged people when they could get by with it. The publicans were so distrusted that they were prohibited from testifying in a court of law. Banks declined their business, and even their charitable gifts generally were refused. It was deemed ethical by the Jews to resort to any sort of evasion (including outright lying) to avoid paying taxes. Rabbi’s viewed them on the same level as highwaymen and murderers. They frequently had contact with Gentiles, hence were considered unclean. Even the handle of a publican’s staff was deemed to be ceremonially contaminated. Publicans you may have heard of: Matthew and Zacchaeus.