This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:1-7).
Many in the modern Church think that in order to love others, one must love oneself. This is not a doctrine that only some think is true, but rather, a significant portion of people within the Body of Christ think this to be true. This is a real deception. Loving oneself is natural, and something that even the flesh in its own strength and carnality can do, the flesh which is hostile against God. All people, even the adulterers, and fornicators are capable of this type of love, that which is diametrically opposed to agape love, or selfless love.
Love of oneself is self-love. Even the greedy usurious bankers can love themselves. Even Charles Ponzi, the usurious thief and devious liar once said that he wished to help others. He once talked about gaining much wealth to serve others, like what one professing Christian woman I encountered, who whinged about the attacks against the mammonised system of capitalism, asking how can we help people without gaining more, that is, for herself.
Such "help" that such people refer to is helping others out of self-love. It is this prideful, selfish love of self that motives many unsaved people to help the poor and "less fortunate" out of their fleshly pride of life. This manifests in the condescending attitude of many westerners, both the unsaved and saved, towards those of the "less fortunate" so-called "poor nations". This is precisely the attitude of many Christian non-government organisations. They may not be giving grudgingly. However, that one does not give grudgingly does not make one more generous and kind. Rather, their attitude of the same pride, but manifests in a condescending manner, giving out of their wealth.
Giving out of one's wealth, as opposed to giving all of what one has, whether materially, time wise or spiritually, is selfishness, not kindness or love. Mark 12:41-44 explains this:
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
True selfless love is not manifested by giving, even if it is giving that is not made grudgingly or reluctantly. Giving freely is not love itself, not does not necessarily indicate selfless love. Rather, it is selfless love that comes first, before one can do any good works. If one has no selfless genuine love, one is nothing. Giving freely out of so-called love and sympathy because one has less material things, is not agape love. Rather, it is a manifestation of pride. Such is the case of Christian organisations in the west.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Mammon feeds on this self-love. Where there is evil, there is mammon. No matter how generous one is, and how genuine generosity is, as long as one has self-love, one cannot truly love others, that is, selflessly. This is because self-love itself is not love, but is no love.
A little leaven of self-love leavens the whole lump, rendering it no love. Thus, if one is trying to serve mammon, one cannot love for self-love which mammon feeds on, is diametrically opposed to selfless love. As long as one is trying to serve mammon, one will love oneself, and thus have no love.
A little leaven of self-love leavens the whole lump, rendering it no love. Thus, if one is trying to serve mammon, one cannot love for self-love which mammon feeds on, is diametrically opposed to selfless love. As long as one is trying to serve mammon, one will love oneself, and thus have no love.
No one can serve both God and mammon. You will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24).
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