WoW 118: On fighting against selfishness [Words of Wisdom]

Josh: 00:00:00

Words of Wisdom 118 On Fighting Against Selfishness Your flourishing

2

: 00:00:06

depends on the depth of your character.

3

: 00:00:09

Your achievements are secondary.

4

: 00:00:12

Your virtue is primary.

5

: 00:00:15

Your depth of character depends

on how much you are able to

6

: 00:00:18

move from vice to virtue.

7

: 00:00:21

Your vices or strongholds are those

patterns of struggles that disconnect you

8

: 00:00:26

from God, from yourself, and from others.

9

: 00:00:30

I've identified the five core strongholds

as selfishness, dishonesty, fear,

10

: 00:00:37

resentment, and distorted thinking.

11

: 00:00:40

Reflecting on your

strongholds is like a maze.

12

: 00:00:44

It is full of distorted

thinking and dead ends.

13

: 00:00:48

It's fraught with danger and opportunity.

14

: 00:00:52

The danger is that you get sucked into

temptations and actually feed your

15

: 00:00:56

strongholds while reflecting on them.

16

: 00:00:59

The opportunity is that you learn to

identify and surrender your strongholds.

17

: 00:01:05

A simple way to fight against

your strongholds is through

18

: 00:01:08

intentional reflection and prayer.

19

: 00:01:11

Take five minutes a day to

sit in quiet reflection and

20

: 00:01:14

prayer about your strongholds.

21

: 00:01:17

Ignatius of Loyola, in his book The

Spiritual Exercises, first called this

22

: 00:01:21

type of rigorous self reflection a

daily examen, and it is a way to pray

23

: 00:01:26

through your strongholds each day.

24

: 00:01:29

Let's focus on selfishness today.

25

: 00:01:33

As I've written previously,

26

: 00:01:35

Selfishness is when your focus

is on what you need and want

27

: 00:01:39

at the expense of others.

28

: 00:01:41

Selfishness can be a form of self

protection or hoarding power.

29

: 00:01:45

Avoiding vulnerability and

refusing to sacrifice always

30

: 00:01:49

causes harm to someone else.

31

: 00:01:51

Selfishness is deadly serious

and destroys faith and worship.

32

: 00:01:57

When selfish, you are not asking, How can

I empower, serve, sacrifice for, and love?

33

: 00:02:04

When selfish, you believe,

My needs come first.

34

: 00:02:08

I am most important.

35

: 00:02:10

I need to be needed.

36

: 00:02:12

I need to be right.

37

: 00:02:14

I must get my way.

38

: 00:02:16

I must be the best.

39

: 00:02:17

It's not my fault, or poor me.

40

: 00:02:22

No one likes to think of

themselves as selfish.

41

: 00:02:25

But if we're honest with ourselves,

it happens more than we would like.

42

: 00:02:29

A core part of the spiritual journey

is to root out selfishness and replace

43

: 00:02:33

it with the faith to follow the Lord.

44

: 00:02:37

Here is one way to pray

through selfishness.

45

: 00:02:41

O God our Father, High King of the heavens

and the earth, search my heart today.

46

: 00:02:48

Show me If I had any selfishness,

to what degree did I seek my

47

: 00:02:55

own agenda instead of yours?

48

: 00:02:59

To what degree did I put myself

first in front of others?

49

: 00:03:04

To what degree did I

desire pleasure too much?

50

: 00:03:09

To what degree did I desire

possessions too much?

51

: 00:03:14

To what degree did I desire

achievement too much?

52

: 00:03:20

Forgive me for my selfishness.

53

: 00:03:24

I surrender my selfishness to you.

54

: 00:03:28

Root out my desire to put myself first.

55

: 00:03:32

Grow in me a desire to serve

you alone and to love others.

56

: 00:03:38

I turn my will and my life over to you.

57

: 00:03:42

I worship you, my king.

58

: 00:03:46

Here I am.

59

: 00:03:48

Lead me.

60

: 00:03:50

Help me to notice and respond

to your promptings today.

61

: 00:03:54

I follow and serve you alone.

62

: 00:03:59

Amen.

63

: 00:04:01

Quotes for this it is necessary to

make ourselves indifferent to all

64

: 00:04:07

created things In all that is allowed

to the choice of our free will and is

65

: 00:04:13

not prohibited to it so that, on our

part, we want not health rather than

66

: 00:04:19

sickness, riches rather than poverty,

honor rather than dishonor, long rather

67

: 00:04:25

than short life, and so in all the rest,

desiring and choosing only what is most

68

: 00:04:32

conducive for us to the end for which

we are created by Ignatius of Loyola

69

: 00:04:40

in his book The Spiritual Exercises.

70

: 00:04:44

The life of every man is a

diary in which he means to write

71

: 00:04:48

one story and writes another.

72

: 00:04:51

And his humblest hour is when

he compares the volume as it is

73

: 00:04:55

with what he vowed to make it.

74

: 00:04:58

By J.

75

: 00:04:58

M.

76

: 00:04:59

Barrie, in his book, The Little Minister.

77

: 00:05:03

Questions Do I have hope I can overcome

my strongholds with God's help?

78

: 00:05:10

How have I been selfish lately?

79

: 00:05:13

What are the fears

underneath my selfishness?

80

: 00:05:18

Use these questions as a journal prompt

and to guide your prayers this week.

81

: 00:05:24

Endnote, God wants the best for you, and

your best is to desire Him above all else.

82

: 00:05:32

Live wisely.

83

: 00:05:33

Josh