The culture we live in values self gratification and individualistic pursuits. It is much more common to hear people asking what the world can do for them than what they can do for the world. We are immersed in this mindset, yet there is an undying call to altruism among us. The example that Jesus Christ, the son of God, set for us was quite different: a humble life of service.
Jesus repeatedly set an example of serving the addicted, the diseased, the mislead, the ill, the impoverished and the mentally broken. As the Son of God, he knelt down to wash the feet of his disciples, embraced those with leprosy and provided food for crowds of thousands. He invited us to follow in his footsteps, changing our thinking from serving the self to serving those in need.
Why would this benefit us more than living for ourselves? Because it is how we were created to live. We were meant to live in God’s presence, with our needs for love and provision endlessly being met, giving us the natural capacity to give endlessly of ourselves. This healthy way of living, being a servant, was meant to balance and sustain all of life on this planet, but when man chose free will over God’s provision, we lost the presence of God that was meant to fulfill us, and therefore lost the capacity to be truly selfless. Some have found there way back to service, selflessness and altruism, but they represent a rare minority.
Christ called followers to him, telling them they must be spiritually reborn in order to become what they were meant to be. In the time of Christ, and today, and since the dawn of humanity, people have been born into selfishness, but Christ calls us to turn from our selfish ways and submit completely to him, the one true God, restoring our destiny of an altruistic life of service.