Before Receiving is the Giving!

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There is the huge problem of selfishness among people.  These people just THINK of themselves before others.  Yes they may do good works but only to take advantage of their beneficiaries rather than because they love their beneficiaries.  2 Timothy 3:1 already warned WAY AHEAD that in these last days, there will be people who will be lovers of themselves rather than of God.  The kind of love the world displays is not the agape love but the wrong kind of love.  They are self-serving and what they don't realize is this principle, "For everybody to receive, everybody must also give."  It's "give and take" not "give and give" and "take and take".  People must both give and receive for society's wheel to turn like how one must push, the other must pull.  Is it any wonder why poverty is increasing?  It's all because people do not know the real relationship of give and take.  John 6:26 condemns such reasons that people went to see Jesus only for His miracles but not his teachings.

Here are a few people from the Bible who fell because of selfishness:
  • In Genesis 4, Cain committed murder out of selfishness.
  • The Pharaoh of the Exodus- From Exodus 7-12 the Pharaoh's selfishness caused Egypt to be in ruins.
  • In Numbers 16, Korah's company fell down into the bottom of the Earth because of selfishness.
  • In 1 Samuel 15, Saul's selfishness caused him his kingdom.
  • In 1 Kings 21:1-20, Ahab and Jezebel were selfish.  It literally became the last straw for them when God proclaimed the end of the wicked house of Ahab after he killed Naboth just for a vineyard.
  • The selfishness of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 caused him to lose his kingdom for seven years.
  • In the book of Esther, Haman's selfishness caused him his own life when Ahaseurus had him hanged.
  • In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John these four men of God described so well the selfishness of Judas Iscariot the apostate.  His selfishness led him into suicidal despair after he betrayed the Lord Jesus for money.  Please note the betrayal is not an unforgivable sin.


The Bible offers advice on giving and receiving.  Here are some advice to all people:
  • Proverbs 28:27 says that generous people will in due time not want.
  • Romans 15:1-3 says that the strong must help the weak like Christ did for people.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:24 says that everybody must seek others' welfare first 
  • Philippians 2:3-4 says that people must not look only on themselves but also on OTHERS to avoid conflict.
  • 1 Timothy 6:17-19 says that the rich should not be greedy but rather help others in need.

In fact, God also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26 that when an unsaved, sinful person becomes a Christian, they are given a heart of stone to a heart of flesh.  That is, God will teach his precepts out of His grace, not the Christian's own power but only in God's power the power over hardheartedness.  A Christian becomes generous because of God's grace.  God hates selfishness as every other sin.  Of course this do not support parasite breeding but rather, helping others the right way like teaching them to fish rather than just giving them fish.  After all, if people are lazy, there will be nothing to give either.  Everybody is commanded to work in their own way and give.