This thread has been interesting and insightful. I'd like to touch upon
two topics, that, for various reasons, jumped out at me.
First, the concept of selfless purposefulness. Second, the question of
human nature: Is human nature inherently good or evil?
The Christian ideal of selflessness can be carried to unhealthy extremes.
The precept, espoused by Jesus, that we must lose our lives to find them
is quite remarkable. It certainly implies a selfless lifestyle. At the
same time, the question was asked of Jesus, "Which of all the commandments
are the greatest?" His reply was "That thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." (Refer to Mark 12:30-31 for the full text of this
conversation; other references include Matthew 19:19, Leviticus 19:18,
Matthew 22:39, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8.)
Jesus' answer has embedded in it what some have come to call "The Hidden
Treasure." Love thy neighbor as thyself. A simple directive packed with
meaning. Clearly the two greatest commandments involve love: The love of
God, the love of self, the love of others.
I like to think of love like a thermometer. At the top would be self-love
or narcissism. At the bottom would be selflessness or co-dependency. In
the middle is genuine love, which is a balanced combination of self-love,
selfless love, and love of God.
Unbalanced self-love produces what I would call "unhealthy" behaviors and
results in a persons life. They include:
* Inability to feel pleasure when giving to others
* Interested only in themselves
* Wants everything for themselves
* Sees nothing in this world but themselves and their own gratification
* Overlooks the needs of others
* Avoids personal pain (especially the pain associated with growth)
* Withdrawl from the love others extend
* Is distant from God
Selfishness, essentially, has a two-fold effect: It makes us unlovable,
and inhibits our ability to love.
At the other end of the love thermometer is selflessness. Like
selfishness, also produces unhealthy behaviors and results. They include:
* Inability to feel pleasure when receiving from others
* Interested only in the welfare of others
* Wants everything for others (overlooks their own needs)
* Helps others avoid pain (even at the expense of bearing unnecessary pain
themselves)
* Withdrawn love from themselves and gives it to others
* Is distant from God
Selflessness, like selfishness, has a two-fold effect: It makes us
unlovable (because a selfless person can't receive love), and it inhibits
our ability to love (because we can only love others as much as we love
ourselves).
Somewhere in the middle is self-esteem. This is a condition in which we
find joy and pleasure in both giving and receiving from others. We are
interested in ourselves, our own well-being, as well as others. We are
close to God (or whatever spiritual power is in your life). It is here
that we ultimately find happiness.
And so I think that selflessness is an important part of the Christian
ideal, but it is not the epitome of the Christian ideal. We can only love
others, including God, as much as we love ourselves. In all the years I
went to Sunday School, I never once heard this taught. The principles of
service, sacrifice, and selflessness were extolled; self-esteem was
ignored.
NB: Many of these ideas came from a book titled "Hold on to Hope," which
was written to help addicts and their families cope. ISBN 1-55517-274-1.
For the second item, the question of human nature, I would refer you to LO
8288, posted on July 5, 1996, written by Art Kliener. His post is both
insightful and succinct. I more or less agree with what he has to say.
[Host's Note: Here is the web reference for Art Kleiner's msg:
Linkname: Learning-Org Jul 1996: Why is Wealth Important? LO8288
URL: http://world.std.com/~lo/96.07/0058.html
...Rick]
-- Benjamin B. Compton bcompton@enol.com http://www.enol.com/~bcomptonLearning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>