Self Interest doesn't have the Last Word! Good Friday Reflections

 Thoughts on a Good Friday

Good Friday Reflections on Luke 23

This a long introduction, but stay with me.

One of the courses I used to teach was Issues in Economics. This was an upper level seminar style class in which we learned about the basics of economics and then played with various social, political, and moral issues which are impacted by economic theories, practices, and policies. It was always a small group of motivated students and our discussions were usually quite interesting. One young lady’s comment and our ensuing discussion has since stayed with me and become a kind of lense through which I often look at Scripture and my life. 

Without going into great detail, our economic system is based to a great degree on self-interest, the idea that an individual will try to maximize actions to his or her advantage and achieve a greater level of well-being. The theory, roughly, goes that when individuals practice self-interest, other’s well-being will also be enhanced.  The problem comes in when conflicts occur between individual’s self-interests, or when individuals or groups advance their self-interests at the expense of others or the environment. I think you get the idea. But, here is what struck me about this particular discussion. We were getting into the possible pros and cons of this topic when one young lady came out with this. “So, could we say that narrow self-interest was the original sin?” The economics class, just turned into a religion class. (This was a Lutheran high school), and the ensuing discussion became one of the lenses through which I have since read scripture and practice self-examination. 

Enter Good Friday, 2022 and my reading of Luke 23. Here I was struck by the people’s accusations, and the way in which they reflected self-interest. Their argument was that Jesus was disrupting the status quo. His teachings were threatening their sense of how things should be done so that they could maximize their own well-being. The solution? Get rid of this person, misrepresent what he had actually taught.  Do violence to the one who would threaten their self-interest, their power, their comfort, their plans for changing the regime. Look at their accusations and the record ,though.

Accusation: We found this man perverting the nation!

Jesus: (Luke 6:27ff)

Love your enemies - do good to those who hate you - bless those who curse

you - pray for those who abuse you - do good and lend expecting nothing in 

return- be merciful as your Father is merciful.

Accusation: He forbids us to pay taxes to the emperor!

Jesus: (Luke 20:20ff)

Give to the emperor, things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that 

are God’s.

Accusation: He stirs up the people by his teaching!

Jesus: (Matt. 5:9)

Blessed are the peacemakers.

(Luke 10:36ff)

Which of them was neighbor?…’The one who showed mercy.’ Go and do

likewise. 

Instead of asking for a man of peace, a man who was living according to God’s way, showing what life in God’s community is like, and in order to protect their self-interests, the people not only called for Jesus death, they also chose Barabas, an insurrectionist, to be freed, reinforcing their desire to promote and protect their interests. 

Jesus’ life showed us how it is to live in the realm of God, to be within God’s community, and he did it perfectly because we aren’t able. But, his life also showed us what to expect not only from those around us but even from ourselves when we engage in thinking and living in God’s way. God, in Jesus, calls us to live God-interested (First table of the Law) and other-interested (Second table of the Law). How often have we marginalized others or gifts of God in order to justify, protect or advance our own narrow self-interest? How have we thought about or treated others who by their words or examples have exposed our concern for self and our lack of care and concern for others? Jesus’ death shows us the result of our self-interest. Thank God that our self-interest doesn’t have the last word!