Sin is born in selfishness. Selfishness is a mannerism by which a person sets themself up as supreme and the only object of consideration. Self-love is in its nature enmity against God and not subject to the law of God.
Self-love produces the forces and passions of envy, wrath, protests, demands, and vile words. It is the source of all iniquity.
It is the foundation of all spiritual blindness, therefore the source of all idolatry and every false religion that stands in the shadow of the Gospel. Self love opposes the true character of Jesus Christ.
When under the influence of self-love, men depart from the truth of God’s word. It is the chief of the lies of nature. It is universal in its existence. It is the fountain head of all the pollution and abuse of mankind, and ungodliness feeds on it. It is the source of pride, and wicked ambitions, this is selfishness acted out in this private and critical way.
Selfishness can bind the eyes and hearts of the best meaning of persons. It is the cornerstone of covetousness and deficiencies in morals. With their eyes turned away from heaven, they now look downward upon earthly pleasures as being the good things of this life. It twists around and interacts with falsehoods, injustice and oppression, each invading the property and private lives of others.
The Scriptural warnings against this sin:
Isaiah 5:18, “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cord.”
Micah 7:2, “The good (faithful and loyal) man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.”
Selfishness is contrary to the good example of the wise.
Phillip Laspino www.seekfirstwisdom.com