We are undone by distinguishing time from eternity, and carrying on a separate interest for it…The obedience we compliment Him with, generally speaking, costs us nothing. Our state and being in this world is our fall, and the loss of our paradise; and we may as well seek felicity in hell as here. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
One of the most deceitful things about sin is its blinding effect on man’s view of eternity, but of course the corresponding issue of the value of eternity as opposed to time on this earth is included in that as well. Jesus clearly taught on this, but not many take it to heart at all, though none believe it fully in daily life. We try to live in this world as if this world is all that there is, though of course many religious people deny that by carrying on with a lot of religious activity. However, the Pharisees carried on with a lot of religious activity and they did that in order to impress others with their prayers, alms, and fasting.
Oh how deceptive the things of this world are, but it is not always the openly wicked things that deceive us the most, though those things deceive us in a different way. Jesus told us that the great and foremost law was to love God with all of our being, but for some reason that has been changed in our hearts and minds to loving ourselves. We have been told that we cannot love another unless we love ourselves, so we think that we must love ourselves in order to love another. However, Scripture tells us that we must love God first in order to love another as the Greatest Commandment is to love God with all of our being which should tell us at first glance that if we are to love Him with all of our being, then any other object loved must come from a love for Him first. When we love ourselves first (though not a true love) we are setting our hearts on things below rather than on things above, which is to say that we are not thinking of eternity first and this world second.
When we love ourselves first and then give what is left to God and others, we will only give that which costs us nothing. We will only give that which is in our earthly best interests with a short gaze at eternity. Jesus tells us to deny self and take up the cross in order to follow Him, but we want to love ourselves in order to follow Him. Jesus tells us to hate our own lives, yet we think we can love our lives and the ease of life and the creature comforts. We want to serve a God that has our earthly comfort and even riches in mind, though in fact God has eternal things in mind. This is nothing more than idolatry and a desire for God to follow our wisdom rather than His own, and in fact it is a desire for God to step off His eternal throne in order to make my earthly existence comfortable.
Adam points out, with a powerful thought, that we might as well seek our well-being and happiness in hell as here. When we seen our happiness and our goals in this life we have turned our gaze from heaven and have focused on non-eternal things. How can we turn from heavenly things and seek our real and spiritual good in worldly things and on earth and still think we are spiritual people? Could it be that the evil one is using worldly and earthly things to distract our minds and hearts from eternal things? If that is the case, then the things of self are reigning in our hearts and we are living for self as if self is our god. This leads to nothing less than a hell on earth with some things to distract us from the time when all distractions and pleasures will be gone in hell and the utter misery and torment of self will be fully on our minds and hearts. It is possible to live as if there is no God and to live as if we are seeking our happiness in hell. In hell, however, there will be no distractions to keep us from thinking about our empty hearts that are without the slightest joy and comfort. Oh the misery it will be for people to have focused on worldly things and have neglected eternity. Eternity, though we are distracted now, will be fully focused on then.
God Loves... Himself 
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