Fight & Win

James 4:^1-2 “Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. You want things, but you don’t get them… So you argue and fight. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God.” (ERV)

The Bible says the conflict you have with your siblings, the conflict you have with your boss, the conflict you have with your driver, the conflict you have with your house-help, come from selfish desires. Some people change house-helps every week, do you know why? The conflict is not with the house help. Where is the conflict? The conflict actually starts with you and not with them. Nobody is saying it is your fault. However, God is saying, if you sort yourself out there will be no conflict. The truth is, the more selfish I am, the more irritated, the more self-centred, the more impatient I get with you. The more I think you are a fool, the more I think you are not making any sense. So, it is a reflection of who I am.

Philippians 2:^3-4 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Therefore, the solution to selfishness is Humility, Selflessness. The Bible says we are to think of others as better than ourselves. When you walk into a room and you check to see if people noticed you, it is you God is talking to. Do not think only about your own affairs but be interested in others and what they are doing. God is not saying think less of yourself. God is saying think of yourself less. False humility tells us to think less of ourselves, to tell ourselves that we are nothing. That is not God. God is not saying you need to beat yourself down.

God is saying to be really humble; you need to stand as tall as you can stand then look at God and see how small you are, then and only then can you really be humble. Selfishness robs off on our relationships. God says you must be humble but to be humble is not to batter yourself. In fact, do you know that you are incredibly valuable? How do I know that you are incredibly valuable? Look at the cross of Jesus Christ. The price you pay for something determines the worth of that thing to you. Your worth to God is the death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. You are priceless, absolutely priceless. However, as much as you are incredibly valuable, you must also understand that you are deeply flawed. When you look at your life and all you see is yourself, there is a problem, and you need to overcome that.

So, the first battle we need to win for our light to shine brightly is the battle between selflessness and selfishness. The second battle we need to fight and win for us to shine brightly is The Battle Between Forgiveness And Bitterness. When we struggle with forgiveness, it is to our own disadvantage. Why? It is because forgiveness is a choice to let the person go. You cannot control what people do to you, you cannot, but you can control how you respond.

Prayer: Father, I ask for a selfless and humble heart, I ask for the grace to think of myself less and genuinely take interest in others, in Jesus Name. Amen!