Editorial September 16, 2013 ISSUE

An unselfish reputation

The Editors

Talk about a bad rap! After decades of being labeled one of the most selfish generations, Baby Boomers—at least some of them—feel they can now hand off the title of “most selfish generation” to Millennials, often defined as the generation born between 1980 and 2000. But do the 80 million Americans born during those years really deserve that label? We don’t think so.

God's law, which promotes unselfish love, is built into you.

Let’s consider some evidence that suggests Millennials are exceptionally unselfish. To take one example: The Fire Department for the city of Los Angeles recently made it known they were hiring new recruits. More than 13,000 applied for just a few hundred spots. One eyewitness suggests a huge percentage of applicants were Millennials. Even taking into account the tight job market, that means many want a job that includes running into burning buildings when everyone else runs out. It means doing so not just for family or friends, but for total strangers. And on top of that, some propose that Millennials have had to grow up during times of turmoil, and if one considers this factor, they are pragmatic and managing relatively well. 

Yes, there is a logical case to be made for the unselfishness of Millennials. But the unselfishness that Jesus exemplified is actually built into each of us. The Bible tells us that God has written His law into the heart and into the “inward parts” of each person, regardless of when he or she was born. God’s law, which promotes unselfish—in fact, unselfed—love, is built into you, is inherent to your true nature, is an inborn fact of your real being. “After those days,” the Bible records God as promising, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33 ).

Think of what that law includes. It is a law of love—of loving God and loving one’s neighbor. It is a love so warm, so real, that any selfishness in thought tends to melt away, giving more room to the divine law written within. 

So what’s the difference between unselfish and unselfed? They do have distinctly different meanings. The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, employs the term unselfed twice. The first usage occurs right at the start,“The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God,—a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love” (p. 1 ). A human can strive to be unselfish, and can often succeed. But let’s take this concept a bit further. An immortal, perfect child of God—and this is our true identity—is actually, by definition, completely unselfed. He or she has no mortal selfhood, and is not trying to attain what is absolutely, already true. Bear witness to this fact, for yourself and for your whole generation. Your capacity to see not only the unselfishness, but also the unselfed nature, of all people will come into clearer focus.

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