Galileo was Wrong!

Long ago, many people believed that the sun and all the planets revolved around the Earth.  After many calculations and observations, however, the famous physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei determined that the Earth in fact revolves around the Sun.  This idea of course has been accepted as fact for quite a long time, but I offer new evidence that this in fact false.  Yes that's right, the Earth does not revolve around the Sun, but rather around me... Or at least that is what my actions and behavior would suggest.

Okay so I don't actually believe that the Earth revolves around me, but the way I act sometimes would suggest otherwise.  These actions may be subtle to the point that I don't even notice them.  In fact, just yesterday I had to correct my selfish behavior over something that was rather trivial.  I was driving back to school and had to make a few stops along the way.  As I pulled into the bank to drop off a check, three other cars pulled in in front of me.  I couldn't believe that 3 other people would need to stop at the bank at the exact time that I was.  I finished at the bank and noticed that I was beginning to run a bit later than I had expected.  I started to get onto Rt. 30 when I realized that I had gotten Rt. 30 West rather than Rt. 30 East.  Clearly the city planning hadn't consulted me on where best to put the ramp.  Finally getting closer to Lancaster I got onto 501 behind slow moving cars.  Didn't they know I was in a hurry?  I was sure they were moving slowly on purpose.  Of course the traffic lights were all red, in their attempts to delay me.  Stopping at Giant I picked up some snacks (I was in charge of bringing snacks to the class that I was beginning to run late for) and realized that the person who stocked the shelves hadn't put everything in one nice spot for me.  Upon leaving the parking lot however, a car who clearly had the right away let me go in front of them.  It was at that point that I realized how selfish I had been up to that point during the day.  I hadn't stopped to consider other people.  My entire morning had been all about me and what I needed.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend the entire day in silence and solitude before God.  Something that kept coming up was my selfishness.  I began tracing back over my life and began seeing subtle traces of being self-centered.  Even in serving, I have tendencies of honoring myself over others.  Things as simple as picking up my bag from a car full of luggage before helping others with theirs. It was a hard thing to wrestle with especially since the vast majority of the things I do, I don't even realize I'm doing them.  I would wager that this problem of selfishness is not unique to myself.

The idea of selfishness is entirely contrary to the bible.  Jesus was the antithesis of selfishness.  Everything He did was for the glory of God.  He always looked out for the well-being of others and constantly sought to encourage those He came into contact with.  He even demonstrated this others-centered life by laying down His for the world.  In His beautiful statement from John 15 He discusses what it really means to be unselfish.  He says, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13).  To be so concerned with other people that you are willing to lay down your life for them is the true sense of love.  This doesn't just refer to dying on a cross for your friends, but to die to your needs and wants for your friends.  This is what it really means to die to yourself.  To be able to put others' needs and desires above your own on a moment by moment basis is to truly die to yourself.

Recently I've been doing a lot of self-examination and analyzing why I do certain things and not others.  It has been a great time of learning yet has certainly led to some challenging growth opportunities.  Having established that I am a selfish person, I have begun to realize the gravity of what that means.  It has forced me to be more intentional about my actions and more thoughtful in how I help others.  By always grounding my thoughts and actions in Christ, I am able to have small victories over my selfish nature and my desire to be in control.  While I have certainly gained some valuable insights into my character and have made small victories over my selfishness, there are still times when my actions demonstrate a belief that Galileo was wrong.