Analysis: self and other

Check your habits including online behaviour, be it on social media platforms and or other media platforms. Are your posts mainly your pictures, or about things you are involved in, such as your business or profession? If your answer is yes, this means that you are self-involved. On the one hand, there is nothing wrong in this, as long as one recognises that, God had designed man with this inherent quality, with a view to, as a means of survival, extending to a desire for immortality.

Man is always focused on his/her abilities, achievements, desires, interests, will and wishes, including the desire to live forever. The Scriptures is a love story consisting of two actors: God and Man. Out of the two actors, one, is in all the stories and anecdotes busy with himself/herself, entirely self-involved and makes everything about themselves, while the other actor, in all the stories and anecdotes makes it about the other actor. Man makes it about man, and God makes it about man. It is possible to study the Bible and conclude that our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose on the third day, mainly to save us “Salvation” from our sin (thus making us the focus of the Salvation work). On the other hand, the redemptive work of Christ can be seen as God coming down from Heaven to reunite man to Himself, by cleansing man with His, God, own Blood. This understanding puts God at the front and centre of the story, as it should be.

God always, at every step, since Creation, put man first, beginning with; after creating the plants and animals, He paraded everything before man and asked man to give them names, as if it were man that did the work. God continuously honoured man, right from Creation work to Salvation, when He finished the work on the cross. This constantly has lulled man into thinking that he/she is the main actor, that it is all about him/her, and his/her abilities, looks, achievements and desires, including living forever. Ask any person you know to tell you about their family member that lived one hundred years ago without looking into any written source. Let them describe the character, likes and dislikes, momentous events, and occasions in that dead relative’s life. The dead are dead and forgotten. This explains what Jesus meant when he said that even the tax collectors love those who love them, their family members, and these ones would soon forget, the moment the reinforcing instrument is removed or absent. Jesus advocates being like the Father, loving your enemies, love the stranger like yourself (see the hook of self-love once again), in order to be like your Father in Heaven.

James 4:6; But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.”

Proverbs 3:34; He mocks proud mockers but shows favour to the humble and oppressed.

Pride can be defined as a sense of one’s own proper dignity or value; self-respect. Or pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association. Or arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.

A high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

The state or feeling of being proud.

A becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one’s position or character; self-respect; self-esteem.

Pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself: civic pride.

A respected Bible scholar and pastor, once did an analysis of the book of Jonah and came to the conclusion that this book was about man, according to him, workers in the church (what he meant was workers/employees in his religious organization) are sleeping, and that they have to wake up from their slumber in order to help God with Salvation work! However, some other theologians, in their analyses of the book of Jonah concluded that the book was about the forgiven nature and character of God. This is a perfect example of the principle of self-involvement and selflessness. Man is always making it about himself/herself, while God is always making it about man. What a sweet, sweet, loving, kind, forgiving, compassionate and merciful God we have.