Collateral Damage is a term used to describe the inflicting of injury, pain, sorrow, difficulty or even death on an unintended target. As we progress through this lesson there may be a tendency for all of us to view ourselves as the victim of collateral damage. I'm going to ask you to resist that and see yourself instead as the one who inflicts it on others. We live in a society infected with the incurable disease of self-interest. It will never be eradicated until Jesus makes all things new, but with God's help we can lessen it's control of our heart and life. Let's start with an example of extreme self-interest in a people that should have known better.
Num 17:12-13 And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying? These are the words of a people who had become extremely frustrated with the result of self-interest in their interaction with God, yet they seem to view God as the problem. Let's review some of the events leading up to their frustration.
* At Mt Sinai the people had Aaron make a golden calf to be their god when Moses didn't come down form the mount quickly enough. When Moses did return the sons of Levi killed 3,000 men of Israel who stood against Moses.
* Israel became dissatisfied with the manna God provided for them so He gave them quail to eat for a whole month and there was a great plague among the people.
* Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses in the ears of the people and Miriam was given leprosy for 7 days.
* Moses sent 12 spies to view the promised land. Ten of the men sowed fear in the hearts of the people because of their unbelief. As a result Israel would be forced to wonder in the wilderness for 40 years. They then decided to ignore God's judgment against them and fight with some of the inhabitants of the land only to be defeated.
* Korah, Dathan and Abiram questioned Moses as being chosen by God and stirred up the people against him. As a result of God's judgment over 14,000 people died.
All of the failures listed above are the result of self-interest. Collateral damage describes the trouble brought to others when we are self-interested. Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Many seem to have the idea their thinking and behavior can only adversely affect them. God's word tells us there's nothing further from the truth. Our thinking and behavior greatly affects others. We are God's people, we should be the least self-interested people on Earth, our lives should be examples of dependence upon God and sacrifice for others. Jesus was a living example of that. Only in Him can we find the strength to walk in His steps. One final thought before we begin, to be truly selfless what motivates us must change.
(2 Timothy 3:1-4) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Here we have listed for us some dangers of living in the last days. You will notice they are all the result of people walking after the flesh, being governed by self-interest.
3:1 perilous times – Perilous means fierce, savage, hard to take, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous. Extreme self-interest is the result of demonic oppression and that should be an indication of how dangerous it is. For an example we will go all the way back to the beginning. Gen 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The devil has always sought to oppress us and increase our rebellion against God by appealing to our self-interest. A wise man said, “Satan disguises submission to himself under the ruse of living according to your own will. He never asks us to become his servants. Never once did the serpent say to Eve, “I want to be your master”. The shift in commitment is never from God to evil; it's always from God to self. Instead of God's will, self-interest then rules.” The affect of self-interest is more easily seen today than ever before. Anger is often the result of unmet expectations and the majority of people's expectations are aligned with self-interest. Anger resulting from unmet expectations should have no place in the heart of God's people, His truth should displace it. Justifying anger that results from not getting what we want is simply a way to hold on to self-interest. Our self-interest is savage, troublesome and dangerous to others. It's often children that suffer most and sadly we are teaching them to have the same self-interest.
men shall be lovers of their own selves - Matthew Henry said, “When men are lovers of themselves, no good can be expected from them.” When we see ourselves as victims, when we are angry because we can't have what we want, when we are depressed or anxious because of our circumstance or failure, when we find it nearly impossible to have joy it's almost a certainty we are to in love with ourselves. Consider that such love for self causes many hardships for the weakest and most needy in our society. They're the ones who suffer the most because self-interest rules in those who should be sacrificing for them.
Num 17:12-13 And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying? These are the words of a people who had become extremely frustrated with the result of self-interest in their interaction with God, yet they seem to view God as the problem. Let's review some of the events leading up to their frustration.
* At Mt Sinai the people had Aaron make a golden calf to be their god when Moses didn't come down form the mount quickly enough. When Moses did return the sons of Levi killed 3,000 men of Israel who stood against Moses.
* Israel became dissatisfied with the manna God provided for them so He gave them quail to eat for a whole month and there was a great plague among the people.
* Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses in the ears of the people and Miriam was given leprosy for 7 days.
* Moses sent 12 spies to view the promised land. Ten of the men sowed fear in the hearts of the people because of their unbelief. As a result Israel would be forced to wonder in the wilderness for 40 years. They then decided to ignore God's judgment against them and fight with some of the inhabitants of the land only to be defeated.
* Korah, Dathan and Abiram questioned Moses as being chosen by God and stirred up the people against him. As a result of God's judgment over 14,000 people died.
All of the failures listed above are the result of self-interest. Collateral damage describes the trouble brought to others when we are self-interested. Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Many seem to have the idea their thinking and behavior can only adversely affect them. God's word tells us there's nothing further from the truth. Our thinking and behavior greatly affects others. We are God's people, we should be the least self-interested people on Earth, our lives should be examples of dependence upon God and sacrifice for others. Jesus was a living example of that. Only in Him can we find the strength to walk in His steps. One final thought before we begin, to be truly selfless what motivates us must change.
(2 Timothy 3:1-4) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Here we have listed for us some dangers of living in the last days. You will notice they are all the result of people walking after the flesh, being governed by self-interest.
3:1 perilous times – Perilous means fierce, savage, hard to take, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous. Extreme self-interest is the result of demonic oppression and that should be an indication of how dangerous it is. For an example we will go all the way back to the beginning. Gen 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The devil has always sought to oppress us and increase our rebellion against God by appealing to our self-interest. A wise man said, “Satan disguises submission to himself under the ruse of living according to your own will. He never asks us to become his servants. Never once did the serpent say to Eve, “I want to be your master”. The shift in commitment is never from God to evil; it's always from God to self. Instead of God's will, self-interest then rules.” The affect of self-interest is more easily seen today than ever before. Anger is often the result of unmet expectations and the majority of people's expectations are aligned with self-interest. Anger resulting from unmet expectations should have no place in the heart of God's people, His truth should displace it. Justifying anger that results from not getting what we want is simply a way to hold on to self-interest. Our self-interest is savage, troublesome and dangerous to others. It's often children that suffer most and sadly we are teaching them to have the same self-interest.
men shall be lovers of their own selves - Matthew Henry said, “When men are lovers of themselves, no good can be expected from them.” When we see ourselves as victims, when we are angry because we can't have what we want, when we are depressed or anxious because of our circumstance or failure, when we find it nearly impossible to have joy it's almost a certainty we are to in love with ourselves. Consider that such love for self causes many hardships for the weakest and most needy in our society. They're the ones who suffer the most because self-interest rules in those who should be sacrificing for them.
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