People living in a fallen world necessarily look to their own needs before they look to the needs of others. We probably wouldn’t survive if we didn’t care for ourselves as much as we care for others. That’s probably why the Old Testament Law (Leviticus 19:18) and Jesus’ quotation of it (Matthew 19:19) doesn’t tell us to love others “more” than ourselves but to love them “as” ourselves.
A requirement to love others more than oneself would drive a sensitive person to despair. Such a requirement could be a death sentence. No one could achieve such a goal, and anyone who tried to would be destroyed trying to.
On the other hand, Jesus did set forth the principle of servant leadership (Luke 14:8-11) and the New Testament frequently addresses the issue of unbridled selfishness and pride (Romans 12:10; 1 Peter 5:5; Galatians 5:26). Philippians 2:4 says:
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Php 2:4 NKJV)
