Life Changing Verses

20 

Grace 

Selfish Grace 


“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:14-15 


The first verse above speaks of the personal responsibility that each of us has in our relationship with others. May I say that this verse is compromised by Believers when we think of ourselves more importantly than we should. 

When a person has an attitude of “I’m right; they’re wrong” or “who do they think they are”, that person has reduced or eliminated their opportunity to be holy before God, which ultimately leads to not seeing God at work in their life. I call this “selfish grace”. God has given you all the grace you need, but you choose not to use it. 

The second verse describes the bad “fruit” that results in not seeing or appreciating the grace of God. What is that grace? God loves you unconditionally…He took on all of the judgment that you deserve because you are not holy…and He did it freely and unconditionally. 

This means that He does not expect you to change or get your act together before He accepts you. When we say we will forgive someone else AFTER that person does this or that, we are missing the grace of God. God’s grace in your heart says you are ready and prepared to show grace to another person as God showed it to you before you were even born. 

A root of bitterness grows up in you because that person is not meeting your expectations that would allow you to grant “my personal gracious grace” to them. This is not God’s grace. This is called selfish grace…”I’m willing to give when others honor and respect my desires, my wishes, my expectations, my needs”…bottom line: “ME!” 

We all succumb to this type of thinking because the world encourages us to. “Don’t be a wimp!” “Don’t let anyone take advantage of you or you’ll regret it.” “They must feel sorry for what they did before I can show them grace!” When Christ was on the cross dying for you; he did not ask if you felt sorry for your sins. He died for you full of grace. 

The verse finishes with the resulting “bad” fruit...trouble with many others defiled in the process. In other words, others are asked to take sides and say that I’m right and the other person is wrong…with the principal character again being “ME”! Remember this: Jesus said that if anyone was to come after Him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Him. 

Don’t let a day go by without the realization that denying yourself is the key to showing selfless grace, being holy, and seeing the Lord. Think on God’s grace BEFORE the opportunity to show God’s grace to others. Be prepared!