Concerning Selfishness

My husband has always done little things to bless me. Since the day we got married he will put toothpaste on my toothbrush for me and leave it on the counter. He’s usually always the first one to make amends when we argue. And he can put things behind him and move on so quickly that it used to irritate me.

I, on the other hand, have a hard time just making his lunch in the morning (among many other things). I know that it would bless him but sometimes I don’t do it or feel like doing it. Why? Because I am selfish. In those moments where I KNOW that I should serve him and I make some excuse not to is pure selfishness. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

The sin of selfishness is very prevalent in my life. It shows its ugly face more often than I would like. But it’s a good reminder that it’s an area that I need to be working on. God, in his kindness to me, is faithful to bring about daily reminders when it comes to putting other’s needs before my own. Especially when it comes to my husband. Taking that extra time to serve him blesses him so much and really, in the long run, makes me feel good too. Not that I do it for that reason but when you are walking out your biblical role as a wife, there is fulfillment that only the Lord can give.

Martha Peace in her book, The Excellent Wife has a list of Eighteen Ways a Wife May be the Glory of Her Husband. They are ALL very good but I am only going to list the first five. The rest can be found in her book on page 55-56.

1. Ask your husband, “What are your goals for the week?”
2. Ask your husband, “How can I help you to accomplish these goals?”
3. Ask your husband, “Is there anything that I can do differently that would make it easier for you?”
4. Be organized with cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, and cooking. As you fulfill our God-given responsibilities, your husband is then free to do his work.
5. Save some of your energy every day for him.

In this day and age these are pretty radical ideas….it goes against everything that our culture says that we as women should be doing. So what does an unselfish person look like? I will leave you with some common synonyms: altruistic, benevolent, charitable, chivalrous, denying, devoted, disinterested, extroverted, generous, helpful, humanitarian, incorruptible, indulgent, loving, magnanimous, noble, open-handed, self-effacing, self-forgetting, selfless, self-sacrificing
~ Sharlyn Eddy