“Self-fulfillment is too small a vision to warrant your highest allegiance.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 16, 2026
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45, NKJV
We live in a society that is obsessed with so-called “self-fulfillment.” In many ways, gratifying your desires is seen as an inalienable right and one of the highest callings and pursuits to which you can give yourself. Conversely, to live without this fulfillment is seen as an incomplete or subpar life. And while this is seen throughout popular culture and in the media, we find this expectation alive and well within our communities of faith and most personal of relationships.
For example, if you were to talk to a marriage therapist, they would tell you that one of the top issues they have to help couples navigate is unfulfilled sexual expectations. And though there are many reasons for this that are unique to each couple, an unchecked need to fulfill our own desires is almost always at the root. I heard a pastor put it this way once: “Marriage does not exist to extend the reach of your desires.” There is great wisdom to be found in meditating upon that single sentence. If you are married, take a long, hard look at your relationship, and seek to identify ways you expect your partner to simply extend your ability to meet your desires. Yes, this can be sexual, but it is also found in our desire for comfort, or leisure, or affirmation, or control. The list could go on and on.
When confronted with the intensity and ever-present nature of our desires, let us be quick to return to the example given by our Lord Jesus Christ, who “did not come to be served, but to serve.” Jesus is the model of perfect humanity, life as it was meant to be lived. Interestingly, he modeled this as a celibate, single man! And so, though marital intimacy is a good and praiseworthy way of life for those who are called to it, self-giving love is an invitation to everyone. No matter your state of life – married, single, widowed, child, parent, grandparent – every human on this planet is invited to know the freedom that comes from giving your life away for the sake of others. And in truth, this is the path that leads to real and lasting intimacy, with God and those with whom we share our lives.
Self-fulfillment is too small a vision to warrant your highest allegiance. Give your life away every single day, and in so doing, learn what it means to follow in the path our Lord Jesus walked. There is no other way.
Prayer
Father, free us from the lie that fulfillment is found in gratifying our desires, but instead teach us to follow the example Jesus set before us, giving our lives away for the sake of others, in the power of your Spirit we pray. Amen.
Application
Meditate today on the example of Jesus and consider how you too can live to serve and not be served.
Related Reading
Matthew 16:25; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 5:1-2
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship: New Wine
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