“Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” (Gen. 19:8)
I have yet to hear a plausible explanation of Lot’s words, willing to sacrifice his own children to a murderous mob for the sake of two complete strangers, love for one’s own offspring does not change because of the customs of the day or place.
“Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.” (Gen. 12:13)
Abraham, a man of faith beyond most, willing to save his own neck at the expense of the one he cherished most on this planet.
“And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.” (2nd Kings 17:17)
For the sake of self.
The latter still happens today, hundreds of thousands of times a year. If you think that Molech and Dagon are silent in these days, think again, if you believe Ashtoreth has simply faded into a distant memory, then you are mistaken. Men of great power do not attain such great stature because of their amiable ways, not all of course, but a great many of them are either followers of the ways of the prince of darkness, or have evil spirits, devils within them, and some willingly.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
Abraham, Lot, those who sacrificed their own children in the fire, those who have willingly killed their own children in the womb all have one thing in common, selfishness, and the reason matters not, they set their own lives above those that might cause their life to end or cause an inconvenience to themselves.
Those who would attain power at any cost are willing to sacrifice all that stand in their way, are willing to do all that is necessary to obtain that power over people, it is the pinnacle of covetousness. Name nearly any world leader, any ruler of a nation throughout history unto this very day, and you will easily see the truth of these words.
We have reached a point in the history of mankind where those who would sit in the highest seats of power have ceased, in many cases, to even attempt to cover their tracks, lies upon lies, deceit upon deceits, and they do not care whether anyone knows it or not, for they have attained to a power that cannot be stopped or hindered. One man will arrive on the scene, one man who will know human nature better then all men combined ever could, and worship him or not, they will follow him for the same reason, self.
The continuation of life and the pursuit of those things of the world that it offers, this is the natural path of man, at the expense of others.
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
Dying to self is of no value unless it is done for the glory of God, if there is even a hint of selfishness, of vainglory in that attempt, it will avail you nothing.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
Why Lot would not stand and fight I do not know, why Abraham was willing to lose his wife, why Isaac did the same I cannot say, but there is a foundation that all those mentioned here rests upon, they were willing to risk others for the sake of self.
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1st Peter 2:24)
The Lord Jesus Christ was the most selfless person who ever lived, His time and energy were all focused on one thing, that our Father in heaven would be glorified, that His will would be done, that His most Holy name would be exalted above the heavens.
To die to self my friends means much more than just not doing those things you once found pleasure in, it means much more than just being polite, it is the death of self, at the expense of no one but yourself.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
