Skip to main content

Leave Self at the Door!


Last week I wrote that I really love a good play on words, whether the play on words is intentional or not.  When I wrote about the likely intentional one last week, I also had another one in mind, this time a likely unintentional one.  Here it is…

We recently came across a sign for a “Self-Realization Fellowship”.  To dissect it a bit, consider some common definitions of the words at play here:

Self:  to, with, for, or toward oneself or itself

Self-Realization:  fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality

Fellowship:  companionship, company, community, the quality or state of being comradely

Self and fellowship seem mutually exclusive.  Self can be well, just focused on self.  You typically do things and think things with self in view.  Fellowship, on the other hand, often puts self aside for the state of being comradely or part of community.

When you throw in self-realization part, the “fulfillment by oneself”, there seems to be little room for other people.  It all then begs the question, how can fellowship actually occur when all are focused on self?

Contrast the self part of things with what God encourages: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  (Phil 2:3-4)

We are also encouraged to meet together (fellowship), not for the fulfillment by one’s self, but for the impact we can have on one another:  “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Heb 10:24-25)

From the verses above, an inordinate focus on self tends to displace any notion of fellowship.  In fact, true fellowship normally calls for leaving self at the door.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excel Still More!

To excel, according to some of the meanings from a few dictionaries, is to surpass others, do extremely well, outdo, do something better than anyone else. In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, we find the phrase “excel still more”.   It prompts the question:  if we are already doing something better than anyone else, why would we be encouraged to do even more? Perhaps it would be helpful to see the wording that other translations use for “excel still more” to see why we would be encouraged to do so.  Here is a sampling: • abound more and more • to keep doing so more and more • but try even harder • live that way more and more. • that you progress even more. • that you increase more and more in how you ought to walk Maybe it would also be helpful to see some other verses where the word “excel” is used: “Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which when translated means Dorcas); this woman was excelling in acts of kindness and charity which she did habitually.”...
Post a Comment
Read more

Value Proposition

Value proposition:  it’s a marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer should buy a product or use a service.  It should clearly and concisely communicate what customers can gain from selecting a particular brand over that of its competitors. In a value proposition, you don’t want your product to be viewed as being worth less than what your competitors offer.   But even worse, in a bit of a quirk of how letters and spaces can fall, if you take out the space between “worth” and “less”, you get “worthless”, which means something of no value.   If that word is used in conjunction with how your product is viewed by customers, it’s a word that will likely kill your brand. In the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul, in a sense, communicated some value propositions. In chapter three, he starts off with describing the value of some things that many considered as extremely valuable in that day and age.   They had to do with status and achievement in the reli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Open Immediately

The envelope had a specific command prominently printed on the outside.  It said “Open Immediately”. Immediately normally means now or without waiting; without interval of time. The envelope also had a company name prominently printed on the outside.  It was “Endurance”. Endurance normally is t he ability to sustain a prolonged effort or activity; the ability to keep doing something difficult, unpleasant, or painful for a long time. There are times when we want God to respond immediately, as without interval of time: “ But you, O Lord , do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!”  (Ps 22:19). And there are other times when we are glad that God responds slowly, as in sustained over a long time:  “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord , the Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger , abounding in love and faithfulness,” (Ex 34:6) Intentional or not, the printing on that envelope was a contradiction in te...
Post a Comment
Read more