Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Nehemiah chapter 5 verse 7.

I took counsel with myself and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials.

I said to them you are exacting interest each from his brother and I held a great assembly against them.

So what's happening here is as the people of God

are working together on the walls.

What's happening is the nobles and the officials start taking advantage of people.

And in their power, their self-interest starts to take over and they begin basically cheating their brothers

and sisters around them.

I see in this picture that constant tendency, certainly in leaders, to use and abuse power

for selfish gain

But it's not even just leaders certainly those who are in positions are prone to that of leadership

But even just in our own lives how we're constantly tempted to think about my own heart and the constant

temptations to do whatever is best for me, to work for myself, to work out of self-interest and even to use others in ways that are good

for me.

Oh, how sinful that is.

And Nehemiah, chapter 5 just opens my heart, I hope our hearts to the sinfulness in us,

this tendency towards selfishness that we need God to change in us, that we might.

We think about Jesus saying, the greatest command, love God with all you are and then love your neighbor as yourself

look out for your neighbor as yourself serve your

self. So we pray today, God, deliver us from self-interest,

from pride, from always looking out for ourselves. help us to look out for others.

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