AUGUST 24, 2021 CAC LIVING WATER DEVOTIONAL : TOPIC – THE DANGER OF SELF-CENTEREDNESS
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Tuesday, August 24, 2021
THE DANGER OF SELF-CENTEREDNESS
Read: 2 Kings 20:16-19
2 Kings 20:16-19 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord:
The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord.
And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”
MEMORISE:
The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” (2 Kings 20:19)
EXPOSITION
Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes self-centernedness as being too interested in oneself and not caring about the needs, or feelings of other people. Hezekiah showed himself to be almost the exact opposite of an “others-centred” person. He was almost totally self-centered. All he cared about was his own personal comfort and success. This is evident in his response to God’s judgement on his own misdemeanor.
God had announced the coming judgement. Surprisingly, all Hezekiah could respond with was relief that it would not happen in his lifetime. Isaiah had just prophesied that after Hezekiah would be gone, his sons would be captured and mutilated, and the kingdom destroyed. Instead of repenting and begging God again to save his people, he did nothing. This is a perfect picture of very selfish parents and leaders.
This response to Hezekiah challenges us to think about how our actions after the upcoming generations, rather than thinking only of our own lifetime. This statement seems selfish, short-sighted, proud, unrepentant and escapist.
Marion Wade, the founder of Service-Master focused on building a company that would endure rather than ensuring his own success. He said “I was not asking for personal success as an individual or merely material success as a corporation. I do not equte this kind of success with Christianity. Whatever God wants is what I want. But I did try to build a business that would live longer that I would in the marketplace that would witness to Jesus Christ in the way the business was conducted.” Check your heart in relation to your posterity. Can God give you pass mark? Change, now that is not too late! See selflessness in David (1 Samuel 30v20-31) and Moses (Ex.32v30-35).
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Holy Spirit fire, consume the spirit of self-centernedness in me, in the mighty name of Jesus.
2. Lord Jesus, give me the grace to always look not only to my own interests, but also to the interests of others.
3. Father, help our churches to be more concerned with what becomes of the Faith in the hands of their children after this generation must have gone.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Psalms 69:20 – 72:17, Romans 15:12 – 15:33