Encouraging - Self-Centeredness

Elder brothers may do good to others, but not out of delight in the deeds themselves or for the love of people or the pleasure of God. They are not really feeding the hungry and clothing the poor, they are feeding and clothing themselves. The heart’s fundamental self-centeredness is not only kept intact but nurtured by fear-based moralism. This can and does erupt in shocking ways. Why do you think so many churches are plagued with gossip and fighting? Or why do so many moral people live apparently chaste lives and then suddenly fall into the most scandalous sins? Underneath the seeming unselfishness is great self-centeredness

Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (Dutton, New York, NY: 2008), 62-63.