God Blesses Unselfishness - Genesis 13-15 and Matthew 5:1-26

God blessed Abram because of his unselfish attitude and actions, and He did not bless Lot, because of his selfishness. This truth is so easy to see in these chapters. When Abram and Lot had to separate, because their flocks and herds were too large, and it was causing strife, Abram could have chosen his own land, but he gave Lot the choice. Lot chose the well watered area of the Jordan, while disregarding the wickedness of the people, because he wanted personal profit. Then, Abram had to rescue Lot from his captivity in chapter 14, but Abram would not take any spoil. He had done it, not for money, but to help Lot. He gave tithes to worship God for His blessings, and that is very unselfish, too. All along we read about how Abram is building altars to worship God everywhere he goes. Worship is an unselfish act, because we are focusing on God and not on ourselves. In chapter 15 we read that God will bless Abram with a son, because of his unselfish faith, and his descendants would own the land and become a great nation. What a blessing! I believe it was all linked to Abram's focus on God, instead of having a focus on himself and his own needs. (Matthew 6:33)

Think about the Beatitudes in the same light. As Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, all of these blessings are for unselfishness. Jesus is showing us to depend on God, instead of trying to take things into our own hands. Even being salt and light is unselfish, because it is for the purpose of helping others. Look at the example of anger in verses 21-26. God does not bless our selfish anger toward others. He blesses our unselfish actions to reconcile with those who have something against us. Anger is basically selfish. We want to get our way. A person who refuses anger is thinking about how to help the other person and how to be friends with the other person, instead of hurting them. It is that attitude God blesses.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 16-17 and Matthew 5:27-48.