Self-Interest
- Michael Haldas
- May 1
- 3 min read
“There is no doubt that people will act in their own self-interest. It is inherent in sin…Sooner or later, every disciple of the Lord fails Him by pursuing his own self-interest. Were it not for the Cross and the Lord’s forgiveness, His Resurrection and the gifts of the Spirit, our failings would leave us in utter despair.” (Father Stephen Freeman, Dynamis 2/18/2014)
“…the Lord commissioned us to be victorious not only over death "from outside," but also over death "from within," that is, over our own selfishness…He asked us, as Christians, to abide by love rather than by hate, by hope rather than by despair, by faith rather than by logic, by justice rather than by injustice, by forgiveness rather than by resentment, by humility rather than by vanity and arrogance, and by sacrifice rather than by self-interest.” (Metropolitan Silouan)
“Real love is not to make another person a carbon copy of oneself. It is to expand our own capabilities of tolerance and caring, to actively seek another’s well-being. All else is simply a charade of self-interest…being a Christian means to live for others, and not to selfishly focus on self-interest. We are to live for Christ, which means living for all those who make up the Body of Christ, especially the least of His brothers and sisters. Part of our being transfigured by Christ, part of our repentance is loving others, making the choices that Christ would make, rather than focusing on our self-interest.” (Richard Paul Evans, Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“ ‘The purer the heart, the more trusting it is’. This is how it can be tricked by wicked people who act on the basis of self-interest, lies and deceit. Recognition of this may cause pain and disappointment, bitterness and resentment. But it can also be dealt with in a spiritual manner, by considering that the person who’s doing the deceiving is sick and needs treatment based on understanding, acceptance and forgiveness…The whole idea here is to be able to see the other person as a brother and feel his pain. It is this very pain that moves God and brings about the miracle. For there is nothing else which moves God as much as a noble and sacrificial spirit. But now, in our time, this kind of nobility is rare, because self-love and self-interest have entered the picture.” (St. Gregory the Dialogist, Fr. Andreas Agathokleous, St. Paisios of Mount Athos)
“Another characteristic feature is unselfishness. The usual code of conduct in social relationships depends on mutual self-interest, which, in the best of circumstances means ‘I love those who love me’, ‘I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine’, and ‘I trust those who trust me’. From this attitude I expect personal benefit and this why I have an input. Christian love transcends this logic of mutual benefit in human relationships. It works on the basis of another ‘logic’, which is, for some people, the ‘absurd’ reasoning of simply giving and loving. If love is limited to ourselves and to our friends, then we’re in no way different from non-Christians, since ‘even sinners do this’.” (Georgios Patronos)
“There is no doubt that people will act in their own self-interest. It is inherent in sin.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Power and self-interest may appear successful in the short run, but they do not ultimately “work” in a world created by a good and just God. Therefore cruel, selfish power is not only sinful, but stupid. It brings about loneliness, emptiness, and destruction. Faithfulness, integrity, unselfish service, and love are not only right but wise, because they fit the fabric of reality.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)
“When self-interest continues as the dominant commitment of our lives, when we devote our energy to serving ourselves above all others, then we are wrongly self-centered. And this form of self-interest is a far more serious and dangerous problem than the wounds we suffer at the hands of others. But very few people even notice their commitment to self-interest, and among those who do, even fewer are deeply concerned about it.” (Larry Crabb)
“Sooner or later, every disciple of the Lord fails Him by pursuing his own self-interest. Were it not for the Cross and the Lord’s forgiveness, His Resurrection and the gifts of the Spirit, our failings would leave us in utter despair.” (Dynamis 2/18/2014)
“The divine will is preferable to every other good. Shake off, then, all self-interest, and live by faith and abandonment.” (François Fénelon and Jeanne Guyon)
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