It’s not wrong to seek your own good. God created the first man and woman and gave them great things to enjoy. God wanted them to enjoy. That was before sin entered into human nature. So, to seek our own good is not sinful, we were created by God to seek our own good.
Seeking our own good can and does become bad when we hurt someone else when doing so, or hurt ourselves. Things for our own good may not be fun at the moment, may not be enjoyable in the short term. Things that are good for us might be difficult, might take a long time, might not see result quickly.
Let’s remember – our greatest pleasure is found in knowing God and in our relationship with Him. The more we please God, the greater good we will have. Our good will also benefit our neighbor, we will be better able to serve our neighbor, and we can provide great benefits to society in general.
What is in our hearts is most important to pleasing God. Sincerity in seeking Him and His will, not to please someone else, or to look good, or even to make ourselves feel justified. Seek to please God because we love him. When you truly love someone, you want to please them.
What’s in your heart today?
“for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7, last part of the verse.