In recent years, a host of books have hit the shelves attempting to lift up the virtue of “looking out for number one.” Basically, what they suggest is that the world out there is dog-eat-dog, not dog-nurture-dog. It’s made up of winners and losers; and if you wish to be counted among the former, then you had better start looking out for yourself, because if you don’t, no one else will!
On the one hand, I can certainly understand the appeal of such thinking. Many of our daily “to do” lists are filled only with obligations to others—things we “have to do,” “need to do,” or are “expected to do.” There are meetings to attend, emails to return, customers to satisfy, bills to pay, homes to maintain, children to raise, and on and on it goes. The humorist Sam Levenson once quipped, “When I was a kid, they told me to do whatever my parents wanted. When I became a parent, they told me to do whatever my kids wanted. Will somebody please tell me: When do I get to do what I want?” A lot of us, I suspect, can relate to that.
But on the other hand, while I understand the allure of “looking out for number one,” I am not convinced that it actually works as a philosophy of life. The creed of the narcissist—“I’m not here to worry about your needs, nor do I expect you to worry about mine”—is not unique to this generation. As a matter of fact, it’s as old as humankind itself. When God asks Cain the whereabouts of his brother Abel, Cain famously replies: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Mind you, he is saying this not to justify murdering his brother, but to justify his utter lack of concern. “I look out for my own interests,” reasons Cain, “and he looks out for his. It’s every man for himself in this crazy world.”
And what is Cain’s punishment? He becomes a wanderer upon the face of the earth, with no place to call home; no community to support or comfort him. In effect, Cain is the first one to adopt the philosophy of “looking out for number one,” and the consequence is that he spends the rest of his days lost and disconnected. The aforementioned books will tell you that, being unconcerned about the needs of others, allows one to climb the ladder of success with single-minded determination. But once you have reached the uppermost rungs, and are looking down on everybody else, then where are you? All alone—that’s where!
Way back at the beginning, when God first fashioned the heavens and the earth, everything that sprang forth was declared to be “good.” It was created, evaluated, and immediately given the stamp of divine approval. The only thing God deemed “unsatisfactory” was loneliness. “It is not good that the man should be alone,” said God.
That, in a nutshell, is the problem with “looking out for number one.” If you are interested only in looking out for yourself, then you will eventually end up looking out at the rest of the world, all by yourself!
On the one hand, I can certainly understand the appeal of such thinking. Many of our daily “to do” lists are filled only with obligations to others—things we “have to do,” “need to do,” or are “expected to do.” There are meetings to attend, emails to return, customers to satisfy, bills to pay, homes to maintain, children to raise, and on and on it goes. The humorist Sam Levenson once quipped, “When I was a kid, they told me to do whatever my parents wanted. When I became a parent, they told me to do whatever my kids wanted. Will somebody please tell me: When do I get to do what I want?” A lot of us, I suspect, can relate to that.
But on the other hand, while I understand the allure of “looking out for number one,” I am not convinced that it actually works as a philosophy of life. The creed of the narcissist—“I’m not here to worry about your needs, nor do I expect you to worry about mine”—is not unique to this generation. As a matter of fact, it’s as old as humankind itself. When God asks Cain the whereabouts of his brother Abel, Cain famously replies: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Mind you, he is saying this not to justify murdering his brother, but to justify his utter lack of concern. “I look out for my own interests,” reasons Cain, “and he looks out for his. It’s every man for himself in this crazy world.”
And what is Cain’s punishment? He becomes a wanderer upon the face of the earth, with no place to call home; no community to support or comfort him. In effect, Cain is the first one to adopt the philosophy of “looking out for number one,” and the consequence is that he spends the rest of his days lost and disconnected. The aforementioned books will tell you that, being unconcerned about the needs of others, allows one to climb the ladder of success with single-minded determination. But once you have reached the uppermost rungs, and are looking down on everybody else, then where are you? All alone—that’s where!
Way back at the beginning, when God first fashioned the heavens and the earth, everything that sprang forth was declared to be “good.” It was created, evaluated, and immediately given the stamp of divine approval. The only thing God deemed “unsatisfactory” was loneliness. “It is not good that the man should be alone,” said God.
That, in a nutshell, is the problem with “looking out for number one.” If you are interested only in looking out for yourself, then you will eventually end up looking out at the rest of the world, all by yourself!
posted by Dr. Robert Crilley at
3:31 PM
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