A Tale of Two Seas

I think we can learn an important lesson from the two seas in Palestine: The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater sea. An abundance of fish live in this sea, and its banks are green and lined with beautiful trees. Everything around it lives and thrives, and children love to play on its shores.

The Dead Sea, however, has no fish. Nothing near it is green, and no birds nest nearby. Children seldom play on its shores, and the air above it hangs heavy.

Now, the Jordan River flows into both seas, but they each do something different with the water that flows into them. The Sea of Galilee receives water and gives it back out…drop for drop. Water flows in and flows out in equal measure. However, the Dead Sea hoards its water—it keeps every drop it receives!

I believe these two seas are a perfect illustration of two different types of people in the world. Like the Sea of Galilee, some give freely, bringing love and joy and hope to those around them. And others, like the Dead Sea, stifle themselves with selfishness and greed.

Consider 1 Timothy 5:6 (AMPC). Paul warns us against selfishness, saying, The person who lives in pleasure and self-gratification [giving themselves up to luxury and self-indulgence] is dead even while they [still] live.

Wow—that’s a strong statement! However, I think we all know people who live this way. They may have nice things, but they can’t seem to enjoy them. They’re constantly complaining, and no matter how much is done for them, they are never satisfied. These types of people are into “self,” and that usually includes a lot of self-pity.

You might be thinking of someone specific with that description, but the truth is everybody has a problem with selfishness. It’s human nature to want to take care of yourself before you take care of other people’s needs. That’s why the Bible teaches us that we have to war against the spirit of selfishness.

Mark 8:34 (AMPC) says, …If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and…follow with Me….

For a long time, I wasn’t really sure what Jesus meant when He said to “take up his cross.” I thought maybe it referred to suffering, sickness, or the bad things in life. But, over time, God helped me to see that it’s not those things at all. To take up His cross simply means to get over ourselves! It means to lay ourselves down for others.

Every one of us has a ministry. Every single one of us can help bring others into a relationship with God. We all have the ability to affect our world in a positive way. But in order to do so, we have to get over ourselves and focus on other people!

I think we all have a natural tendency to look out for ourselves, and this is healthy to a degree. Certainly, we need to take care of ourselves. We each have needs, and we require the right amount of time to rest, enjoy ourselves and do some things just for ourselves. However, we will never truly be happy if our minds are always focused on ourselves.

You see, God has created us to love and give. And when we do, it releases a supernatural joy in our lives—a joy that’s greater than anything else the world can offer. So, if you want to be happy—truly happy—then take some time to be good to someone else. Fill your thoughts with how you can bless other people. Do little things for others throughout the day.

When we have this mindset—when we choose to give out some of the great things God has poured into us—then we become like the sea of Galilee. We become a vessel for God to use to distribute His blessings...and we show the world what He is really like.