I was considering this Monday night as I was slicing a cucumber. Travis (my brother) was sitting on the couch in the living room, and I walked right past him into the kitchen. I was hungry, and I found a saran-wrapped cucumber half in the fridge and began cutting it up.
I had filled a plate with slices and decided this was all I wanted, but I had a pathetic-looking chunk of cucumber left over. I definitely didn't want it, and it was at this moment that it occurred to me to offer some to Travis. Travis (who is a teenage boy and eats everything) especially loves cucumber, but never before this moment had I thought to offer to cut some up for him. Unsurprisingly, oblivious to my own selfishness, he gladly accepted the cucumber.
Perhaps the word that our culture has ingrained in us more than any other is Me. It has preached to us a gospel of selfishness, and it has leaked into the Christian's heart as well. It has leaked into my heart. We don't like to share. We don't like to sacrifice our own comforts, our own cucumber. We'll share our dregs, our unwanted leftovers, but not our first fruits.
From hamburger commercials to the types of movies we create, Me is our hero. Our god. We never want to put Me out. We are highly individualistic and starkly self-serving.
If you're like me, you've probably heard that before. You're probably familiar with the concept. Yes, our culture idolizes Me. Yes, selfishness is bad. Yes, I'm selfish. But sometimes it takes half a cucumber to remind us that we are not as good as we'd like to think. Right now, you and me - even if we're Christians - are sinful. Very. Still.
But we have hope that the Spirit will convict us of our sin, our practical selfishness. He is the one who teaches us through half a cucumber. We just have to decide whether or not we will heed Him. Furthermore, we have the encouragement that God works through our sin for His glory. My acknowledgement and repentance of my selfishness aided in my sanctification.
And we have the joy that one day we will no longer need half a cucumber to remind us of our sin - because our sin will be gone. For good.