Is Life About Self?
“But now when Timothy came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you; therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress, by your faith: for now we live, if ye stand fast in Yahweh. For what thanks can we render to Elohim again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our Elohim, night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now Elohim Himself and our Father, and our Master Yahshua Messiyah, direct our way unto you. And Yahweh make you to increase, and abound in love one towards another, and towards all men, even as we do towards you: to the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before Elohim, even our Father, at the coming of our Master Yahshua Messiyah with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:6-13)
“For now we live, IF YE STAND FAST IN YAHWEH.” This statement is permeated with the same devotion and enthusiasm as the words of John in 3 John 4 – “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” What are our lives all about? Are they about ourselves, or about Yahweh’s Kingdom? Our children are members of Yahweh’s Kingdom! Let’s seriously ask ourselves as we look into the faces of our sons and daughters: “ARE WE ABOUT YAHWEH’S KINGDOM?”
Did Yahweh ever intend that life be about self?
Malachi 2:14-15 reveals to us Yahweh’s heart for marriage, reading, “Yet ye say, ‘Wherefore?’ Because Yahweh hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously. Yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did not He make one? Yet had He the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That He might seek a seed of Elohim. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.”
Marriage does not merely consist of romance and personal pleasure. If that is all one is planning on when he or she enters matrimony, he/she will be sorely disappointed. We live in a society that is prevalent with “me-based” relationships. Everyone wants to “be happy”. Everything’s about “me”. If it doesn’t “make me happy”, I’m out of it. Marriages are falling apart every day because one spouse or the other no longer feels that the marriage makes them happy. Something that we need to realize is that MARRIAGE IS NOT ABOUT MAKING ME HAPPY. Marriage is something to enter with the understanding that together as a couple we will aim to make Yahweh happy. Marriage is something to enter with the realization that as a couple we will pull together, labor together, and strive together for Yahweh’s honor and glory. Marriage is a covenant. It’s a binding promise. It’s all about Yahweh. But the beautiful blessing is that when a couple strives together for Yahweh’s honor and joy, they will find happiness in Him and in one another. Marriage is supposed to be a happy thing, but it can only be so when we stop focusing so much on ourselves. Yahweh rebukes the man in Malachi 2, reminding him not to deal treacherously against his wife, and reminding him that she is his companion. As each spouse puts the other first, seeking the other’s happiness, appreciating the other’s companionship, and earnestly seeking to walk in the covenant that was made with the other, personal happiness can be found too – far greater happiness than will ever be experienced by the “me-based person” who is bouncing here and there looking for someone else to make them happy.
Beyond living for each other, marriage is also about living for our children. In our culture, it is the norm to “wait awhile” before having children. Yahweh’s Word reveals, however, that one of the greatest joys a couple can have is to see their children walking in the truth, and of course you can’t see your children walking in the truth and standing fast in Yahweh if you don’t have any children. We need a major shift of perspective. The world tells us that happiness is found in doing what we want, in pursuing our dreams, in concentrating on self, in being independent, in loosely having sex, and in having few or no children. Yahweh’s Word expresses a totally different concept. In the Scriptures, we will find that true and lasting joy is discovered in doing what Yahweh wants, in pursuing Yahweh’s goals, in concentrating on others, in being accountable to others, in walking in pure covenant, and in embracing however many children Yahweh gives to us!
Our lives are not to be about ourselves, but rather all about Yahweh’s Kingdom. True joy and true life will be found when we turn our focus off of ourselves and embrace Yahweh’s calling to be about Him and His Kingdom.