In his book The Prodigal God, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller offers the following story to illustrate self-centered giving:

Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he took it to his king and said, "My Lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you." The ...

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes about a kingdom called Gondor which for many years has had no king. While waiting for the rightful heir to come and claim his throne, a series of stewards has been placed in charge of the land. The steward in charge at the time of the events described in the book is named Denethor. He has two sons, Boromir and Faramir, both of whom figure prominently in the ...

What U.S. adults say is their idea of the American Dream:

• Free to accomplish anything: 74 percent
• Free to say/do what they want: 68 percent
• Children financially better-off: 64 percent
• Being financially secure: 61 percent

Seinfeld is a popular television comedy based on the humor of comedian Jerry Seinfeld. In an episode entitled "The Fire," Jerry's friend, George Costanza (Jason Alexander), attends a child's birthday party at an apartment at the request of his girlfriend, Robin. While a clown is providing entertainment for the kids, Robin's mother approaches him: "Excuse me—you must be George. I'm Robin's mother. ...

In a very difficult season when finances were tight, I was driving a dilapidated car that had been donated to the church. It had lots of problems, including a ceiling lining that drooped down and grazed my head every time the broken shock absorbers launched me from the seat toward the roof. The car began to speak to me. It said, "Failure." Why couldn't I get my life together? I was getting older every ...

Eighteenth century American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards writes in Charity and Its Fruits:

It is not contrary to Christianity that a man should love himself or, which is the same thing, should love his own happiness. That a man should love his own happiness is as necessary to his nature as the faculty of the will is.

The reigning cliche of the day is that in order to love others one must first learn to love oneself. This formulation--love thyself, then thy neighbor--is a license for unremitting self-indulgence, because the quest for self-love is endless. By the time you have finally learned to love yourself, you'll find yourself playing golf at Leisure World.

The labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed. Think for yourself whether much of your sorrow has not arisen from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal there will be those who will delight to offer affront to your idol. How then can you hope to have inward peace? The heart's fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to ...