Yesterday I quoted a scripture, "Wickedness never was happiness."
Today I'd liked to expand on that with my own spin on it: Selfishness never was happiness.
I can hear you thinking now, "Well, duh." Well, duh, indeed. We all know that. Don't we? I should know it. I've been taught it from the time I was a small child. At home. In church. Yet selfishness continues to plague me.
I try not to be selfish with my means, though I occasionally am. What am I selfish with then? A better question would be, What am I not selfish with?
Time. Energy. Forgiveness. I have been selfish with all of these and more. Time is a finite commodity, and I don't like to give it up. Energy is becoming a more and more finite commodity for me. What about forgiveness?
I don't give forgiveness easily. Isn't that ironic? The word itself contains the word "give." But I struggle and will probably always struggle in giving forgiveness, in letting go of old hurts and grudges. (If you don't believe me, ask my husband.)
So I muddle through the morass of my selfishness, trying to do better, trying to be better. As always, if I truly want to change, I must turn to the Savior.
This I know for sure: selfishness never was happiness.
Very true indeed, Mom. We could all probably do with a bit less selfishness in our lives. How happy would that make our Maker, and the others around us that would benefit.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's so true it's painful! Whenever I'm being selfish in order to "meet my needs" (wants), I end up more unhappy. The less selfish I am, the more satisfied I become.
ReplyDelete...and perhaps next you'll do a post on "grumpiness never was happiness." Is that something we know for sure? :)
ReplyDelete