What Does the Bible Say about Selfishness?

I once knew someone who often made the statement, “Sometimes you just have to be selfish.” We live in a country that encourages and glorifies selfishness in every aspect of life. Often, people feel that they have an obligation to look out for themselves first and everyone else if they feel like it.

However, God has a very different view of selfishness. If we desire to be acceptable to him, we must instead be selfless. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Paul admonished: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

We need to be those who love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39). That does not mean that we never take a thought or care for ourselves, but that we care about others just as much as we do ourselves.