You Need More Than, You (Part II)

Selfless—adj. Having, exhibiting, or motivated by no concern for oneself; unselfish.

For some time now, I’ve had the topic of selflessness tugging on the strings of my heart. I guess it’s time I follow my gut and share my thoughts:

The real question here is, “what would a selfless life look like?” Okay, okay, easy answer. It would look like Christ’s life. Christ’s death on the cross? Case in point. It would look like someone giving up everything and all personal motives for the good of another person. Again, Christ’s life.

But reality is that we just aren’t Jesus. We are not perfect. Sorry, but we’re all far from it (although we can be made perfect by God’s grace—an entirely different topic). All too often, we fall short of having the adjective “selfless” attached to our name. Yet, I’m assured that this is the most important characteristic of having successful relationships with those around you. Whether it’s in friendship, the workplace, marriage, whatever, so much hinges on our choice to be selfless.

The world around us can use people who are willing to put others before themselves. There are so many opportunities that we have to be selfless each and every day. Within our churches, we can choose to loosen our grip on our “oh-so-valuable” money these days and tithe. We can pray for those who may have hurt us in the past (that’s always a fun one). We can take joy in others hopes and dreams when it might not necessarily benefit us the most.

That last one is a favorite of mine. It’s really easy for us to go out of our way to be nice to someone when somehow, someway, it can benefit us. But I believe true selflessness is best portrayed when offering your support for someone or giving up your interests for someone means that you might not benefit from another person’s success or deep happiness, or even take away a degree of your own happiness—whatever that may be in your life. That is selflessness. That is love.

So, my challenge to all of us is to find opportunities in our lives where we can give up a part of ourselves to make someone else smile, or to make their day a bit easier. And don’t do it for the whole “kharma” jazz that so many people talk about these days. Forget that. Karma, shmarma. Do it because you love them and are willing to put them before, well, you!