Selfism

‘Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself. (Philippians 2:3)

Living in a society where much emphasis is placed on status, money, pleasure and comfort, it is easy for us to be squeezed into its mold if we are not alerted. We can become increasingly self-centred and arrogant.

Recently I read a letter a guy who already owned three properties wrote to the Straits Times forum column, complains about the recent property cooling measures. In his letter, he used ‘I’ several times: “……. I studied hard. ….I worked hard….. I pay annual taxes…. I must be penalized ..I invested my hard-earned rewards in more than one property…..”

This guy is clearly exalting himself and engaging in ‘selfism’. We can form so many words with ‘self’: self-serving, self-glorification, self-righteousness, self-indulgence or self-worth. They sound so familiar to us because we can identify with them ourselves and those around us. While it is perfectly alright to recognize one’s success but one has to be on guard against arrogance and pride which come with wealth and success.