Selflessness has been a constant mantra in the church - especially in modern times. It is held by many Christians that the greatest and noblest virtue is self-sacrifice - after all, was this not demonstrated by Jesus’ death on the cross? Is that not the crux of much of the New Testament and the message carried throughout the Old?
Let’s take a closer look at our terms in this examination. Selfishness, as it is defined in modern dictionaries, is indeed a very negative trait because most dictionaries make selfishness at the expense of others. Yet we see that this is not the case. For example, John Stossel talks about the “double thank you” when you buy a hamburger. A hungry man selfishly desires some food; a profit-seeking business selfishly desires money - rather than beat each other up for what the other has, they trade and both are better off by the result - both are grateful. This is how selfishness is a driving force behind cooperation, consent, free-will and even morality. So selfishness does not require exploitation, rather, selfishness is an expression of will. There is no victim in virtuous selfishness.
We know that God has such a will. It is the praise given in Revelation 4:11:
You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.
Paul speaks of it at the beginning of Colossians (1:16):
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Ultimately everything was created, not for humanity or out of some blind sense of sacrifice, but for God himself. It is the supreme, holy and sovereign will of God that everything is as it is. God is without need - he is perfect and complete. He is the essence of the self and thus his will is in perfect selfishness.
Jesus’ death and resurrection, the central aspect to Christianity, must be realized as the will of God - that is what makes it so amazing. It is God’s will that Jesus died for our sins. The love of God is so selfish, so complete, that Jesus would even die for it - not as an affirmation of selflessness, but as the most noble expression of his will.
God is so consistent, so thorough, that he would give more than any of us ever could to save us from our the poor choices made in our free-will. Thus, God does not give out of self-sacrifice because he is not made worse off overall. Just like the man who buys a hamburger, he loses something (the death of Christ on the Cross) but he gains something better than he had to give - reconciliation with his creation.
Paul wrote with such clarity on this subject as he continues in Colossians (1:19-21):
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled…
When Jesus chose the will of the father - he was not sacrificing himself, but aligning with the perfect will of God. That phrase, “not my will but yours be done” was an acknowledgment by Jesus of his purpose for coming. It was a recognition of the tremendous cost that the will of the Father required in order to reconcile men to God.
This subject is made unnecessarily difficult to discuss because the term “selfish” has come to gain such a terrible definition in both society and the church. Quite a number of teachings and sermons focus on this word as the enemy, or the essence of pride. But selfishness is only pride when it becomes rebellion against the will of God. Selfishness is actually a requirement of salvation because we must make the same decision Jesus did - to accept the will of the Father as better than our state of rebellion. We must chose it, selfishly.
However, some readers will not make it past the term to see the meaning. That is unfortunate because understanding true selfishness gives the love of God and the power of the gospel full meaning. Knowing that God’s will is so loving towards unregenerate humanity is truly amazing.
Sometimes the term self-interest conveys the meaning better than selfishness. The negative connotations of selfishness are hard to overcome.
One thing you didn’t define was sacrifice. If we define it as Objectivism does–giving up a greater value for a lesser one–then sure, Jesus didn’t sacrifice anything. But if we define sacrifice as giving up something lesser in order to secure a long-term gain, then we can see Jesus’s actions as a sacrifice. He gave up his life (the lesser) in order to align himself with God’s will and secure the salvation of men (the greater gain).
Yes, I had a whole couple paragraphs on sacrifice but I took it out. I made the exact point you did - that Jesus’ sacrifice was not giving up something of higher value than what he achieved. I felt it was redundant - thanks for adding it.