Based on "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges, this lesson focuses on the sins of selfishness, specifically with regards to our interests, our time, our money, and being inconsiderate of others.

1. Selfishness
Based on Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

2.  We all have blind spots, character flaws, or subtle sins that we are not aware of.
 In studying selfishness, it’s best to start with the obvious truth that we are born
with a selfish nature.
 Selfishness is a difficult sin to expose because it is so easy to see in someone else
but so difficult to recognize in ourselves.
 There are also degrees of selfishness as well as degrees of subtlety in expressing it.
 Selfishness may express itself in many ways, but we’re only go to address four areas
of selfishness that may be observed in believers.
 First, we’re going to look at selfishness with our interests.
 Philippians 2:4
 Paul was referring to the concerns and needs of other people. We’re going to use
it in the narrow sense to mean subjects we are interested in.
 What are our interests?

3.  Our work, our hobbies, our families, or anything else.
 We have a tendency to be so interested in our own affairs that we have little or no
interest in the affairs of others.
 We need to be sensitive and show an interest in the subjects other people care
about. My wife likes NASCAR. I don’t like watching it on TV, but I’ve learned quite
a bit about it so I know what she’s talking about and can be an active participant in
the conversation. (I do like watching the races in person….just saying!)
 Reflect on the last conversation. How much time did you spend talking about
yourself and your interests compared to listening to the other person?
 This may seem harmless, or at worst rude and unthoughtful, but it is a symptom of
self-centeredness.
 II Timothy 3:1-5
 “Lovers of their own selves” is exactly that; A self-centered person cares for nothing
but their own interests.

4.  The second area of selfishness is time. We only get so much and it’s easy to be so
busy that we become selfish with our time.
 We tend to guard our time for our own ends. We can also be selfish in unduly
imposing on another person’s time.
 In either case, we are thinking mainly about ourselves and our needs.
 How many of you have said “that’s not my job” when asked to do some chore at
home? Compare that number to the number of times you’ve said “I’ll take care of
that for you” without being asked to do something.
 Galatians 6:2
 Going beyond our normal duties to help someone else is one way to bear each
other’s burdens.
 The third area of selfishness is money.
 Americans give less than 2% of their income to charitable and religious causes.
 The fact is Americans as a whole are selfish with our money and relatively
indifferent to the physical and material needs of people less fortunate than us.

5.  Romans 12:15
 I John 3:17
 We are to cultivate hearts of compassion toward those in need and then put that
compassion to work through our giving.
 Remember, every dollar you receive is a gift from God. We are to be stewards of
that money and not consume all or most of it on ourselves.
 The fourth area of selfishness is the trait of inconsiderateness. This is expressed in
several ways.
 The inconsiderate person never thinks about the impact of their actions on others.
 People who are consistently late, talk loudly on their cell phones, or leave a mess
on the counter for someone else to clean up.
 We can also be inconsiderate of the feelings of others. How many Christians are
rude to waitresses and/or store clerks or at the very least indifferent to their
feelings?
 How much energy does it really take to smile and say “thank you?” You could
changes someone’s day with those actions.

6.  People who express their own opinions and are indifferent to the possible
embarrassment, humiliation, and put-down feelings of others is selfishly
inconsiderate.
 (By the way, this is a big, BIG, problem for teenagers. I see it every day in the high
school.)
 The unselfish person is always balancing his or her needs and concerns with the
needs and concerns of others.
 By contrast, the selfish person not only is indifferent to the needs of others, but
actually expects them to meet his needs and desires.
 The greatest example of unselfishness is the Lord Jesus Christ.
 II Corinthians 8:9
 Paul urges us to cultivate that same frame of mind in Philippians 2:5.
 Living unselfishly will cost you time and money. It will cost becoming interested in
the interests, concerns, and needs of others. It will cost in learning to be
considerate of the emotions and feelings of others.

7.  When we are in public, we tend to be on our “best behavior.” A lot of selfishness is
seen in the home because we put aside those artificial restraints.
 Since selfishness is difficult to see in ourselves, you may want to ask your family
members to point out any tendencies toward selfishness they see in us. Do it
without becoming defensive or retaliating by bringing up selfishness in the other
person.
 Then you need to genuinely repent of our various sins of selfishness and begin to
pray that the Holy Spirit will enable us to deal with those selfish traits.
 We ALL have tendencies toward selfishness in one form or another, so don’t just
ignore this and say “this doesn’t apply to me.”
 Next is the lack of self-control.