XV

D    Selfishness is unreasonable.
     By this I mean, that our selfish choice is in direct opposition to the demands of our reason. God gave us our reason to rule over us, that is, to reveal our obligation to us, and thus announce God’s law to us. Our reason reveals both the law and our moral obligation. Obedience to moral law, as our reason reveals it, is virtue. Obeying our desires, rather than obeying our reason is sin. This is selfishness. Selfishness dethrones reason from the position of governing our lives and enthrones blind desire in place of it. Selfishness must always be unreasonable. Selfishness denies God’s Divine attribute that unites man to God and makes him capable of virtue.
     Unreasonableness sinks man to the level of an animal. It denies his manhood, and takes away his ability to reason properly. It is contempt for the voice of God within him and it deliberately tramples down the sovereignty of his own intellect. Shame on selfishness! It dethrones human reason, and if it could, it would dethrone God’s Divine reason, and place mere blind lust on the throne of the universe.
     The very definition of selfishness implies that it is unreasonable. Selfishness consists in yielding our will to the impulses of our soul in opposition to the demands of our reason. Therefore, every selfish act or choice of our will must be unreasonable. Sinners never say nor do anything that is truly reasonable. As a result, the Bible says, “madness is in their heart while they live” (Eccl. 9:3) They have made an unreasonable choice of their ultimate goal in life, and all their choices of the means to secure their goal only promotes their unreasonable ultimate choice. Every one of their choices are made to secure a goal that is contrary to right reason. Therefore, no unconverted sinner has chosen anything that is not directly opposed to right reason, not even once. Sinners are not unreasonable some of the time, but, as long they remain selfish, they are unreasonable all of the time. The very first time that a sinner acts or wills reasonably is when he repents and becomes a Christian. This is the first time when he acknowledges that he has right reason. Before this, every act of his will and everything he does in his life demonstrates the fact that he has denied his manhood, rejected his rational nature, and ignored his obligation to God and his neighbor. We sometimes hear people say that unrepentant sinners are unreasonable, and they say it in such a way as it suggests that some sinners are reasonable. But this only deepens the sinners’ delusion by letting them think that not all of them are unreasonable. But the fact is, that there is not and there never can be, in earth or hell, one unrepentant sinner who, anytime, acts in any other way than in direct opposition to his reason. It would be better for sinners if God had never given them a reason. They not only act without consulting their reason, but they also act in stout and determined opposition to it.
     Sinners act as directly in opposition to reason as they possibly can. They not only oppose it, but they oppose reason as much as possible. What can be more directly opposed to reason than the choice that the sinner makes of his goal in life? Reason was given him to direct him concerning choosing his great end of life. It gives him the idea of the eternal and the infinite. It spreads out before him the interests of God and of the universe as having infinite importance. It affirms the importance of the interests of God and the universe, and the infinite obligation of the sinner to consecrate himself to these interests; and his reason promises him endless rewards if he will do so. On the other hand, it lays before him the consequences of refusing such great promises. It thunders in his ear the terrible sanctions of the law. It points him to the coming doom that awaits if he refuses to comply with its demands. But look at the sinner! In the face of all these affirmations, demands, and threats, he unhesitatingly turns away and consecrates himself to gratifying his desires knowing all too well that he could not do greater destruction to his own nature than in this most mad, most preposterous, and most blasphemous choice. Why don’t sinners realize that it is impossible for them to offer a greater insult to the God who gave them reason? Why don’t they realize that they deeply shame and degrade themselves in their beastly selfishness? Total, universal, and shameless unreasonableness, is the universal characteristic of every selfish mind.

E     Self-interest is another attribute of selfishness.
     This self-interest is just the opposite of the unselfish choice of the good of others in general as a goal. It is choosing only what is good for one’s self as one’s goal in life. The relationship of the object he chooses to him is the condition that leads him to choose this good. If it weren’t for the fact that his goal in life is choosing whatever pleases him, he would choose it. He rejects the importance of the good all by itself as not good enough for him; and its relationship to self becomes the condition he uses to determine whether or not he does something. This is really making self‑interest his supreme goal. In other words, he makes self‑gratification the goal of everything he does. The only things that he considers worthy to choose are those things that are a means to gratifying his selfish interest.
     Self-interest secures corresponding feelings. Our emotions, under this form of selfishness, develop all out of proportion, either generally, or in some particular direction. Selfishness commits our will to indulging in our selfish tendencies. But from this it does not follow that all of our passions and desires will be indulged in indiscriminately, and thus, all of our passions and desires will develop. No! Sometimes one desire, and sometimes another desire, becomes stronger than any other desire within us, and thereby gains first place in its control over our will. Sometimes circumstances tend to develop one appetite or passion over another. Whatever desire we indulged in the most we will develop the most. We cannot indulge in all these desires at once for many of these desires are often opposed to each other. However, we can indulge in and develop all of them in turn. For example, we cannot consistently indulge in certain promiscuous desires, and various other passions, if we want to simultaneously indulge in certain greedy desires such as the desire for a good reputation or the desire for ultimate happiness. Each of these desires and even all these desires may manifest themselves over a period of time, and in some people, they may indulge in them so equally that they almost develop equally. But generally, either because of our nature, or because of our circumstances, one or more of these desires will begin to dominate our will, and develop completely out of proportion. It may be the love of reputation; and so we will put on a decent public facade that strictly adheres to the state of morals in the society that we live in. If it is sensual love that gains control over our other desires, lust and promiscuousness will be the result. If it is the desire for food, then gluttony will be the result. Continued selfishness develops the desires of our soul, and produces a corresponding exterior. If excessive desires for wealth or gain take control of the will, we have the greedy miser. All our other desires, wither under the reign of this detestable one. Where the love of knowledge prevails, we have the scholar, the philosopher, and the learned man. This is one of the most decent and respectable forms of selfishness but it is, nevertheless, just as selfish as any other form of selfishness. When compassion as a feeling prevails, we have the philanthropist and often the reformer, not the reformer in a virtuous sense, but the selfish reformer. Where love of kindred prevails, we often have the kind husband, the affectionate father, mother, brother, sister, and so on. These are the admirable sinners, especially among their own kindred. When the love of country prevails, we have the patriot, the statesman, and the soldier. I could draw this picture in full detail, but with what I have given you, I must let you finish the picture yourselves. I would only add, that several of these forms of selfishness so closely resemble certain forms of Christian virtue that they are often confused with them and are mistaken for them. Indeed, as far as their visible physical life is concerned, they are correct to the letter of the law, but since they don’t proceed from a heart that loves God, they are selfish.

F     Selfishness is partial.
     Selfishness consists in preferring certain interests because they are either directly related to his selfish interests, or so connected with his self‑interest that they he prefers them because of that connection. It does not matter whether the interest given to his preference is important or not, he prefers it only because of its relationship to him. In some situations, he may refuse a very practical preference for something much less practical because the less practical preference appeals more to his desires. Now if the reason why he prefers one thing over another is not self‑interest but that he can secure the lesser interest while he can’t secure the greater interest, his preference is not partial, but a just one. Because of my relationship to my family, I can more readily and surely secure their interests than I can secure the interests my neighbor or a stranger. For this reason I prefer to attend to the interests of my own family, not because they are my own, nor because their interests have a special relationship to my own interests, but because I can more readily secure their interests than those of any other family.
     The question, in such a situation, turns on the amount that I am able to secure and not merely on the importance all by itself. It is a general truth that we can more readily secure the interests of those to whom we possess certain relationships; and therefore God and reason point out these interests as particular objects to focus our attention and effort on. This is not partiality but impartiality. It is treating interests properly.
     But selfishness is always partial. If selfishness takes an interest in anything whatever, it is because of its relationship to self. Because it is selfish, partiality lays the greatest stress on, and gives the preference to those interests that will promote and gratify self.
     Now, be careful here or you could become deceived. Often selfishness appears to be very unselfish and very impartial. For example: here is a man whose compassion, as a mere feeling or state of his soul, is greatly developed. He meets a beggar, and this beggar excites his favorite passion, which happens to be compassion. He empties his pockets, and even takes off his coat and gives it to him, and in his emotional excitement, he becomes willing to divide everything he owns with him. Now, everybody would look at him and think that this man genuinely virtuous; that here is a rare and impressive example of moral goodness. But there is no virtue or love in what he is doing. None at all! He is merely yielding his will to the control of his feelings, and there is no virtue in doing that.
     I could share innumerable examples of this to illustrate this truth. This is only one example of selfishness. This man’s selfishness is his will seeking to gratify his feelings of compassion, which for the time being, is his strongest desire.
     We naturally desire not only our own happiness, but also the happiness of men in general as long as their happiness does not conflict with our own happiness. As a result, selfish people will often manifest a deep interest in the welfare of others, as long as their welfare will not interfere with their own. Now, should they yield up their will to gratify this desire, others would often regard them as virtuous. For example: many years ago, a lot of interest and feeling was aroused in this country by the cause and sufferings of the Greeks in their struggle for freedom; and more recently, in the cause of the Poles. A spirit of enthusiasm spread, and many were ready to give and do almost anything for the cause of freedom. They yielded their will to gratify this excited state of emotion. Now they may have thought that this was virtue; but it was not, nor is there any appearance of virtue about it when you understand that virtue consists in yielding your will to the law of your intelligence and not to the impulses of your excited feelings.
     Some writers have made the strange mistake of claiming that virtue consists in seeking to gratify certain desires because they believe certain desires are virtuous. They make some desires selfish and other desires benevolent. To yield my will to the control of those selfish desires is sin; to yield my will to the control of those benevolent desires such as the desire for my neighbor’s happiness and the desire for public happiness is virtue, because these are good desires while those selfish desires are evil. Now this has been, and still is, a very common view of virtue and vice. But this view is fundamentally wrong. None of our natural desires are good or evil all themselves; all desires are involuntary, and they all terminate on their related objects. To yield our will to the control of any them is sin; it is following a blind feeling, desire, or an emotional impulse, instead of yielding to the demands of our intelligence as the source from which God’s law is affirmed.
     To will the good of my neighbor, or of my country, and of God, because of the importance that those interests have all by themselves, is to will those things as an end, and in obedience to the law of our reason, is virtue. However, to will them to gratify some constitutional but blind desire is selfishness and sin. My desires terminate on their respective objects; but, in this situation, my will seeks those objects, not for their own sake, but because I desire to gratify myself. Then, I am not choosing them as an end, but as a means of self‑gratification.
     When people choose something merely to obey a desire, they are making self‑gratification their goal. This must be a universal truth. Even the love these people have is sheer selfishness, and their virtue is vice. Choosing anything whatever because you desire it, while you completely ignore the demands of your reason, is selfishness and sin. It does not matter what it is. The very statement, that I choose something because I desire it, is only another form of saying that I choose it for my own sake, or for the sake of satisfying my desire, and not because of its own importance. All such choices are partial. It is giving one interest the preference over another interest, not because I see that it is more important overall, but simply because it is something that I desire. If I yield to mere desire in any situation, it must be to gratify that desire. That’s why I make my choice. To deny this is to deny that my will seeks the object because I desire it. Partiality consists in preferring one thing over another thing for no good reason. You do not choose it because your reason demands you to choose it, but because you desire it. You want it. Therefore, partiality is and must always be an attribute of selfishness.

G    Selfishness is efficient. Desire never produces any action until it influences our will. Desire is not efficient all by itself. Desire cannot command us to move one muscle of our body without the cooperation of our will. The power to accomplish things resides in our will.
     The efficient ability of our mind to accomplish anything resides in choosing an end. All willing must consist in choosing either an end or the means to accomplish that end. If there is choice, we must choose something. We must make that choice for a reason. To deny this is to deny that we chose anything. If what you choose does not terminate on itself, then what you choose is a means to accomplish your ultimate goal in life, which is either to love and serve God, or to love and serve yourself.
     I have already showed you that you cannot choose the means until you have chosen your end. Choosing your goal is different from the conscious decisions you make to secure that goal. But, although your choice of a goal is different from all the subordinate choices and conscious decisions you use to secure your goal, yet those choices and willful acts are necessary to accomplish your goal. Once you choose to serve yourself, which is done at a very early age, you then depend on you subordinate conscious decisions to secure your goal. Now, you are free to relinquish your goal, and, if you do, you will also relinquish using those means to accomplish that goal. However, as long as you choose to serve yourself, as long a self sits on the throne of your heart, everything you will is going to be efficient in producing conscious decisions to realize your goal. This is true of both selfishness and unselfish godly Love. They are both choices of a goal, and are efficient in using the appropriate means to realize that goal. They are choices of opposite goals, and, of course, they will produce their respective results.
     The Bible represents sinners as having their eyes full of adultery, and eyes that cannot cease from sin; that as long as their will is committed to indulging in their sinful tendencies, they cannot stop indulging in them. Therefore, the only way for sinner can escape from committing sin is to stop being selfish. As long as you are selfish, you can change the form of the outward manifestation of your selfishness, you may deny one appetite or desire for the sake of indulging in another appetite or desire; but it still is and it must be sin. The desire to escape hell and to obtain heaven may become your strongest selfish tendency, in which case, your selfishness may appear like it’s Godly obedience. But as long as your will is following your desires, it is still selfishness; and all your religious duties, as you call them, are only selfishness robed in the stolen garments of loving obedience to God.
     Remember, then, that selfishness is and must be efficient in producing selfish results. Selfishness is the cause, and the effect must follow. Everything sinners do, their whole lives are based on selfishness. It constitutes their life and their spiritual death. They are dead in trespasses and in sins. It is in worthless for them to dream of doing anything good until they give up their selfishness. As long as they continue in selfishness, they cannot act at all without using whatever means are necessary to accomplish their selfish goals. As long as their will remains committed to a selfish end or to the promotion of self‑interest or self‑gratification, it is impossible that they should use the means that are necessary to promote a benevolent goal. The first thing is to change the ultimate purpose or goal in life, and then the sinner can stop committing sin. Indeed, if their goal changes, many of the same acts, which were before sinful, will become holy. As long as their selfish goal remains, everything a sinner does is selfish. Whether he eats or drinks, works or preaches, or, in short, whatever he does only promotes some form of self‑interest. Since his end is wrong, everything he does must be wrong.
     This is the philosophy of Christ. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matt. 12:33, 35) “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh.” (James 3:11, 12) “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43‑45)

H    Opposition to benevolence, to virtue, or to holiness and true religion is one of the attributes of selfishness.
     Selfishness is not simply a lack of unselfish love. It cannot be. Selfishness is choosing self‑gratification as their supreme and ultimate goal in life. As long as one’s will is committed to this selfish end, that person cannot remain indifferent to love whenever he thinks about it. When a selfish person contemplates the opposite goal, his will must either give up its preference of self‑indulgence, or resist that love that he sees. His will cannot remain exercising his selfish choices without bracing and girding itself against that virtue which it refuses to imitate. If he does not imitate it, it must be because he refuses to imitate it. Now his mind will strongly urge him to willfully choose to love God, and to seek the same goal that God seeks. Now, his will must either yield or resist, and his resistance must be more or less resolute and determined, as the demands of his intellect can become quite strong. This resistance to godly love is what the Bible calls hardening the heart. It is a willful stubbornness under the light and the presence of true religion and the claims of true love.
     As long as he does not abandon his selfishness, his opposition to true religion must result in some specific action whenever his mind apprehends true religion. Not only must this opposition develop under certain circumstances, but it also must increase as true religion displays more and more of its loveliness. As the light from the radiant sun of godly love and godly living is poured more and more on the darkened soul of selfishness, the opposition to the glorious love of God must manifest itself in the same proportion, unless he abandons his selfishness. Thus selfishness, fortifying itself under the light, must manifest more and more opposition, just in proportion to the increase of light.
         Opposition always manifests itself in proportion to the light of true religion that shines on the selfish heart. This accounts for all the opposition that has risen up against true religion since the world began. It also proves that where there are unrepentant sinners, and they cling to their impenitence, and show no hostility to the religion that they see around them, there must be something defective either in the professed piety that they witness; or they can’t recognize true piety when they see it. It also proves that persecution will always exist where a lot of true religion is manifested to those who cling to their selfishness.
     It is also true, that selfishness and unselfish love are just as much opposed to each other, and just as much at war with each other, as God and Satan, as heaven and hell. There can never be a truce between them; they are essential and eternal opposites. They are not merely opposites, but they are opposite efficient causes. They are the two, and the only two great antagonistic principles in the universe. Each is heaving and energizing like an earthquake to realize its end. A war of mutual and uncompromising extermination exists between them. One cannot be in the presence of the other, without repulsion and opposition. Each puts forth all its energy to subdue and overcome the other; and already selfishness has shed an ocean of the blood of the saints, as well as the precious blood of the Prince of life. There is no greater, there is not a more deadlier error than to believe that selfishness ever, under any circumstances, can reconcile with Godly unselfish love. Such a thought is absurd and contradictory, since in order for selfishness to reconcile with the love of God and our neighbor, selfishness would have to become true love. Selfishness may change the method of its attack or the method of its opposition, but its real opposition can never change, as long as it retains its own nature and continues to be selfishness.
     This opposition of the heart to benevolence often produces deep opposition of feelings. This willful opposition engages the mind in making up excuses, and objections, and lies, and refuges to hide behind, and often greatly perverts the thoughts and excites the bitterest feelings imaginable toward God and toward the saints. Selfishness will strive to justify its opposition, and to shield itself against the reproaches of conscience, and will resort to anything that will cover up its real hostility to holiness. Selfishness will pretend to oppose sin and embrace holiness. But the fact is, it is not sin but holiness that it is opposed to. These strong feelings of opposition only develop when the heart is brought into a strong light, and it strongly and deeply resists. In such situations, emotions sometimes boil over with feelings of bitter opposition to God, and Christ, and all good.
     We can ask, “can this opposition exist in our soul, and can those feelings of hostility to God exist, when our heart truly loves God and our neighbor”? To this question, I would reply. If it can, it must be produced by some other influence that misrepresents God and places His character before our mind in a false light. Blasphemous thoughts may be suggested, and even injected into our mind. These thoughts may have their natural effect in our soul, and feelings of bitterness and hostility may develop without the consent of our will. Meanwhile, our will may be trying to reject these suggestions, and draw our attention away from such thoughts, yet Satan may continue to hurl his fiery darts, and our soul may be racked with torture under the poison of hell, which seems to be doing its damage in our soul. Our mind, during this time, may seem to be filled, as far as our feelings are concerned, with all the bitterness of hell. And yet it may be, that in all this there is no selfishness. If our will holds fast to its integrity; if it holds out throughout the struggle, and where God is maligned and misrepresented by these infernal suggestions, and we say with Job, “Although He slay me, yet will I trust in Him”. No matter how sharp the conflict is in such situations, we can later look back and say, “We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Job 13:15, Romans 8:37) In such situations, it is the selfishness of Satan, and not our own selfishness, that has kindled up those fires of hell within us. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12)

I        Selfishness is cruel.
     When we use the word cruelty to designate a state of the soul, it represents that state of feeling that has a barbarous or savage pleasure in the misery of others. Cruelty, as an attribute of selfishness, consists, first, in a reckless disregard for the good of God and the universe, and secondly, in persevering in a course that must ruin the souls of others if they can. What should we think of a man who was so intent on securing some petty gratification that he would not sound an alarm if a city were on fire, even though the sleeping citizens were in imminent danger of perishing in the flames? Suppose that, rather than deny himself one momentary bit of gratification, he would rather place many lives in jeopardy. Shouldn’t we call this cruel? Now there are many forms of cruelty. Because sinners are not always placed in circumstances where they can exercise certain forms of cruelty, they flatter themselves into thinking that they are not cruel. But selfishness is cruel to the soul! Selfishness is cruel to the highest interests of others. Selfishness is cruel to the souls of others by neglecting to care and act for their salvation. Selfishness is cruel to God in abusing Him in ten thousand ways, and cruel to the whole universe. If we are shocked at the cruelty the person who would see his neighbor’s house on fire, and the family asleep, and neglect to warn them because he is too self‑indulgent to rise from his bed, what shall we say about the cruelty of one who shall see his neighbor’s soul in peril of eternal death and yet neglect to warn him?
     Sinners often have good dispositions. This makes them think that they are anything but cruel. They possess tender feelings, and are often very compassionate in their feelings toward those who are sick and in distress, and who are experiencing afflictions. They are ready to do many things for them. Such people would be shocked if someone said that they are cruel. And many professing Christians would side with them, and consider them abused. They would claim that no matter what they are like, they definitely are not cruel. Now, there are certain forms of cruelty that are not easily noticeable. But this is only because God has so molded their constitution that the misery of their fellow men will naturally make them sad. However, there is no virtue in their sadness at the sight of suffering, nor is there any virtue in their efforts to prevent such suffering as long as they continue being selfish. They follow the impulses of their feelings, and if their behavior were such that it would gratify them to inflict misery on others if this became the strongest tendency of their souls, their selfishness would instantly take on that behavior. But although cruelty in all its forms is not common to all selfish people, it is still true that every sinner practices some form of cruelty. God says, “The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Prov. 12:10) The fact that they live in sin, that they set an example of selfishness, that they do nothing for their own souls or for the souls of others makes them cruel in God’s eyes. In fact, these are the most atrocious forms of cruelty, and infinitely exceed all those comparatively petty forms of cruelty that relate to the miseries of men in this life.

J      Injustice is another attribute of selfishness.
     Justice, as an attribute of love, is that quality that regards and treats every being and interest with exact equity. Injustice is the opposite of this. Justice is that quality of selfishness that causes us to treat the people and the interests of others inequitably, and basis its preference on self‑interest, no matter how important those interests are to others. The nature of selfishness demonstrates that injustice must always be one of its attributes. This attribute is universally and constantly manifested.
     There is the utmost injustice in the end chosen by the selfish person. It prefers their petty self‑interest over infinite interests. This is injustice as great as possible. This is universal injustice towards God and man. It is the most obvious and most flagrant injustice possible to every being in the universe. This injustice extends to every act and to every moment of life. The selfish individual is never just to anyone or anything. He does not care for the rights of others; and not even in appearance does he have any regard for them except for selfish reasons. He can only maintain the appearance of caring for the rights of others, while, in fact, a selfish mind, cannot respect the rights of any being in the universe, except in appearance. To deny this is to deny that he is selfish.
     Everything he does, he does to promote his own gratification. This is his goal. This is his purpose in life. In order to realize this, he makes every effort, and puts forth every individual conscious decision. As long as he remains selfish, he cannot act or do anything that is not, directly or indirectly, related to serving his self-centered purpose in life. And because his goal in life is to serve himself, he must pursue his goal even if he has to violate the rights of God and every creature in the universe. Justice demands that he should devote himself to promoting the highest good of God and the universe, that he should love God with all his heart, and love his neighbor as himself. Every sinner is as openly, universally, and as perfectly unjust as possible at every moment of his unrepentance. Therefore, always remember that no sinner at any time is just to any being in the universe. Even the debts that he pays, and everything he does that appears fair and just, are only selfish acts that have the appearance of being good. If he is a sinner, it is impossible that he should not have some selfish reason for everything he does, is, says, or omits. Everything he does is selfishness, and as long as he remains unrepentant, it is impossible for him to think, or act, or will, or do, or be, or say anything more or less than he judges expedient to promote his own interests. He is not just! He cannot be just, nor begin, in any instance or in the least degree, to be truly just to either God or man until he begins life anew, until he gives God his heart, and consecrates his entire being to promote the good of God and his neighbor. Justice demands all of this. Unless the sinner does this, he cannot begin to be just. If you are just in choosing your great goal in life, then you will be just in the use of the means to that end. But if you are unjust in choosing an end, then you will be totally unjust in the use of the means to that end. In this situation, everything you do can be nothing more than a thin covering hiding the most abominable injustices.
     The only reason why every sinner does not openly and daily practice every form of outward commercial injustice is that, because of his circumstances, he judges that it is not in his best interest to practice these injustices. Don’t give any sinner credit for abstaining from any kind of injustice for only selfish considerations keep him from doing it. That is, he is too selfish to do it. His selfishness, and not the love of God or man, prevents him from doing it. A sense of justice may prevent him from doing it. But this is only an emotional feeling, and if this is his only restraint, he is just as selfish as if he had stolen a car in obedience to his greed. God so tempers men’s constitution that it often restrains them, that is, one form of selfishness prevails over and curbs another form of selfishness. The desire to be praised by their friends is so strong in most people that it changes how their selfishness develops, so that it takes on a type of outward decency and the appearance of justice. But this is no less selfish than if it developed differently.