UNSELFISHNESS/SELFISHNESS

INCLUDES: Greed.

RELATED INDEX TOPICS: Giving, Greed, Forsake All, Love, Jealousy

         1. One Summer afternoon a steamer, crowded with passengers, many of them miners from California, suddenly struck a submerged wreck as it sped down the Mississippi. In a moment her deck was a wild confusion. The boats were able to take off only one-fourth of the passengers: the rest, divesting themselves of their garments, succeeded in swimming to shore. Immediately after the last had quitted the vessel, a man appeared on deck. Seizing a spar, he leapt into the river but instantly sank like a stone. When his body was recovered, it was found that, while the other passengers were escaping, he had been rifling the miners' trunks, and round his waist he had fastened bags of gold. In a quarter of an hour he had amassed more than most men do in a lifetime; but he lost himself in an instant. "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."

         2. President McKinley was considering the appointment of a minister to a foreign country. There were two candidates, their qualifications almost equal. Which one did he appoint? The President told the story of an incident which decided his choice. Years before, when he was a Representative, he boarded a streetcar one night & took the last vacant seat. Shortly afterwards an old washerwoman entered, carrying a heavy basket. She walked the length of the car & stood in the aisle, no one offering her a seat. One of the men the President was to consider later, was sitting in a seat opposite where she was standing. He shifted the paper so as not to see her. Mr. McKinley walked down the aisle, picked up her basket of washing, & gave her his seat. The candidate never knew that this little act of selfishness had deprived him of perhaps the crowning honor of a lifetime.

         3. In North Africa the natives have a very easy way to capture monkeys. A gourd, with a hole just sufficiently large so that a monkey can thrust his hand into it, is filled with nuts & fastened firmly to a branch of a tree at sunset. During the night a monkey will discover the scent of food, & its source, & will put his hand into the gourd & grasp a handful of nuts. But the hole is too small for the monkey to withdraw his clenched fist, & he has not sense enough to let go of his bounty so that he may escape. Thus he pulls & pulls without success, & when morning comes he is quickly & easily taken.

         4. In the ruins of Pompeii there was found a petrified woman who, instead of trying to flee from the city, had spent her time in gathering up her jewels. In one of the houses was found the skeleton of a man who, for the sake of sixty coins, a small plate & a saucepan of silver, had remained in his house till the street was half-filled with volcanic matter, then was trying to escape from the window. (1Tim.6:9,10; Jam.5:1-3)

         5. The man who lives only for himself runs a very small business.

         6. The French millionaire miser, M. Foscue, in order to hide his treasure securely, dug a cave in his wine-cellar, so large & deep that he could go down only with a ladder. At the entrance was a door with a spring lock, which would automatically shut itself. After sometime he disappeared. Search was made for him but to no avail. At last, his house was sold.
         The purchaser of the house began to rebuild it & discovered a door in this cellar, &, descending, found him lying dead on the floor, with a candlestick nearby. His vast wealth amassed & hidden was with him. He had apparently gone into the cave, & the door accidentally closed, shutting him in. He died for lack of food. He had eaten the candle & gnawed the flesh off both his arms. Thus died this avaricious wretch in the midst of the treasure which he had accumulated.

         7. Several years ago the Rev. Samuel Chadwick told of a testimony meeting at the close of a revival in his church. One person after another rose to tell of his transformation from a life devoted to lawbreaking, liquor, & all manner of evil. The congregation was profoundly impressed by their witness to the power of the Spirit. At the climax of the meeting a little lady got to her feet & gave the most startling testimony of all! She said, "Jesus saved ME from a life of ease, luxury, and selfishness, & it took as much grace to save me from my easy chair as it did to save our brother from the gutter."

         8. Elizabeth Chevalier, author of the best-selling novel, Driven Woman, wrote in a letter to Macmillan. "Have you heard the one about the novelist who met an old friend? After they had talked for two hours, the novelist said, 'Now we've talked about me long enough--let's talk about you! What did you think of my last novel?'"

         9. Too many people conduct their lives on the cafeteria plan--self-service only!

         10. Master selfishness or it will master you.

         11. I am more afraid of my own heart than of the Pope & all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope--Self.

         12. "Self-centered Christian" is a term of impossible contradiction.

         13. Big mouthfuls often choke.

         14. The heathen have a fable of a selfish chief who dug a well & posted a law that none should drink of it but his own family. The well, however, failed to have any water. At length he appealed to the oracle & the oracle told him that it would be dry until he shared it with the people. Even then he contrived to hold on to his selfishness, but in another form, by announcing that the people could have it all night, but he should have it all day. The following day the water failed to come until the sun went down, & then as a multitudes gathered around with their empty vessels, lo! The gurgling waters came bursting from the springs beneath & filled the well to the brim. They drank & filled their vessels & went away rejoicing. But when the morning came the waters disappeared again until the selfish monster learned the truth that we gain by giving & live by loving.

         15. Birds build their nests, rear their young, & make their annual flights to other climes. But so far as is known, no bird ever tried to build more nests than its neighbours; & no fox ever fretted because he had only one hole in the Earth in which to hide; & no squirrel ever died in anxiety lest he should not lay up enough nuts for two winters instead of one; & no dog ever lost sleep over the fact that he did not have enough bones buried in the ground for his declining years.

         16. The World provides enough for every man's need but not for every man's greed.--M. Gandhi

         17. Have you ever heard the story of the rich old lady & her washerwoman? The rich old lady was saved, she knew the Lord, but she had lived for her riches & her own selfish interests & family & her palatial mansion on Earth. All her life she had been too busy making money to serve the Lord. Once in a while she gave a little offering to the church or a little bit to missionaries, or an evangelist, but never very much. She was so selfish she even shortchanged her poor washerwoman, cheating her on her already meager wages.
         The poor washerwoman was also saved, but she really loved the Lord; & even though she had very little money, she cheerfully tithed & gave what few little pennies, nickels & dimes she could to the missionaries & those in need & she really tried to help support the Lord's Work & did everything she could to help others!
         One night the rich woman had a dream: In her dream both she & her washerwoman had died & gone to Heaven. The rich old lady had been so miserly & selfish that she hardly had a friend to greet her when she arrived at the Pearly Gates. So this one Angel "took her under his wing"--he was sort of a doorman--& began to escort her to her new Heavenly residence. As they walked down the crystal-gold streets of Glory, down the shimmering golden avenues of the Crystal City, they passed one gorgeous mansion after another. The old lady enquired of the Angel who each of the mansions belonged to, & he would tell her the names of each resident.
         But by & by, they walked past the most beautiful mansion she had seen yet: It was placed in the midst of the most luxuriant gardens imaginable, & a long flight of unearthly-high ivory steps rose from the walkway to the doorway of a golden, crystal-domed palace, far more beautiful than the Taj Mahal. "Oh, & whose mansion is THAT?" gasped the rich old lady.
         He answered, "That mansion belongs to your poor washerwoman. Even though you didn't pay her much, she really loved the Lord & gave everything she could to the missions & the Lord's Work. And this is her reward."
         The rich old lady thought smugly, "Well, if my washerwoman got a mansion like that, imagine what a fine palace I'M going to get!" But the Angel led her on & on, down the back streets of Heaven, ever downward into the basement of the Holy City, & the houses they passed became poorer & shabbier! Finally they came to nothing but a little sort of a grass shack made out of this & that & little bits & pieces & odds & ends & cardboard & pieces of tin, etc. The old lady looked at it in disgust & said, "What's THIS?"
         And the Angel and, "This is YOUR home!" She gasped, "What do you mean?--'My home'? THIS little shanty, this little shack?! I couldn't POSSIBLY live in a little run-down hut like that! Why, I'm used to living in a palatial mansion on Earth!"
         The Angel sadly answered, "Yes. That's just the trouble: You spent all your money on yourself & your home. You lived for yourself selfishly & you didn't send us very much up Here in the way of gifts & tithes & offerings, good works for the Lord or support for His missionaries. You didn't send us very much material to build your mansion with. This is all you sent up Here. THIS," he said, pointing at the little piece-meal shanty, "Is the best we could do with what you sent."
         The poor old rich lady who HAD been rich on Earth, was now VERY poor & though saved & in Heaven, was going to have to live There like her washerwoman had lived on Earth. She could just be thankful that she was saved & in Heaven at all. That's the way it's going to be with some people when they get to Heaven!--Dad