The great lie propagated on social media …

By casual glance, you would think “success” gurus and some “professing” Christians have conspired to spread a message throughout social media platforms that is often louder than all others.

By the way, the message is a lie.

What is that message?

That YOU are the most important thing to you. That you are at the center of the universe and the world revolves around you. That the decisions you make, and especially the people you allow in your life, should always be for your personal benefit. You’re number one! It’s YOU who matter most.

Little could stand in such stark opposition to biblical truth than a lie like that.

Jesus taught something very different. And it’s incredibly important to note that JESUS Himself taught a different message. You see, Jesus is the One who everything really is all about! Everything that exists was made BY Him and FOR Him (Col. 1:16)! So when the One who the universe (and everything else) really does revolve around says such self-centered thinking is wrong, it’s important to listen to what He says.

And what He tells us is that we are not to live with ourselves at the center of our own lives. Instead, we’re to give Him the place of pre-eminence in all things (Col. 1:15-18), and then pour out our lives serving others in His name. Many churches have simplified this as “loving God, loving others.”

Loud is Jesus’ message that He wants us to follow in His steps of loving other people and serving them (1 Peter 2:21). But we’re not naturally inclined to — or even fond of — helping other people. We’d rather advance our own self interests, and that’s usually what we opt to do.

So, let’s finish this post by taking some time to examine how profusely and clearly scripture re-directs us from ourselves to a life of caring about and LITERALLY helping others (the following is, by no means, an exhaustive list of scripture on this subject):

“There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need,” Deuteronomy 15:11.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them,” Proverbs 3:27.

“Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him,” Proverbs 14:31.

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord — and he will repay you!” Proverbs 19:17.

“Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor,” Proverbs 22:9.

“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows,” Isaiah 1:17.

“In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father,” Matthew 5:16.

“Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow,” Matthew 5:42.

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” Matthew 10:8.

“‘For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Matthew 25:35-40

“Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. ‘There is still one thing you haven’t done,’ he told him. ‘Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me,'” Mark 10:21.

“John replied, ‘If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry,'” Luke 3:11.

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full — pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back,” Luke 6:38.

“The man answered, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,'” Luke 10:27.

“Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it,” Luke 12:33.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” John 15:12-13.

“All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need,” Acts 4:32-35.

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,’” Acts 20:35.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other,” Romans 12:9-10.

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality,” Romans 12:13.

“We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves,” Romans 15:1.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing,” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith,” Galatians 6:9-10.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” Ephesians 2:10.

“If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need,” Ephesians 4:28.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too,” Philippians 2:3-4.

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

“But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers,” 1 Timothy 5:8.

“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life,” 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

“For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do,” Hebrews 6:10.

“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God,” Hebrews 13:16.

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you,” James 1:27.

“There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’ — but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless,” James 2:13-17.

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion — how can God’s love be in that person?” 1 John 3:16-17.

“We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?” 1 John 4:19-20.

This is just a small sample of the overwhelming message from our Lord we receive in the Bible regarding loving and helping others. And yet, so many Christians today saturate their minds with social media memes that elevate them as most important and telling them to cast out anyone who doesn’t personally benefit their lives.

It’s a lie.

We need to reject the lie and starting believing — and living out — the truth from God.

Scotty