Selfishness

We defend our own interests by thinking of others

March 10th 2023

It is not by being selfish and careless that you will best defend your interests. On the contrary, it is in your interest to think of others, for in doing so you improve the conditions of your own life. Let us take an example: you are walking down a path when you come across a lot of broken glass, and you leave it there, thinking, ‘After all, it’s not my fault if it’s there. Somebody else can sweep it up!’ Then, later that night, fate sends you home by the same path. You have forgotten about the glass, and you step on it in the dark and hurt yourself. Then, of course, you exclaim, ‘What idiot left broken glass lying around? What a criminal thing to do!’ Yes, but it is too late to ask yourself that; you should have swept it up the first time you went by.*

* Related reading:

While it is right and healthy to have faith and defend it, trying to impose it on others is a form of fanaticism. In order to avoid such a situation one must never separate faith from love. If it is very difficult to know what love is, we can see its manifestations such as tolerance, gentleness,...