Genesis 43:8 (NKJV)

“Then Judah said to Israel his father, ‘Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.’”

This example of Judah shows the power of self-preservation. Judah was ready to do anything to convince Jacob to release Benjamin to travel with them to Egypt for one purpose: that they may get food to survive. He wasn’t primarily concerned about Benjamin’s safety, neither was he moved by the need to release their brother Simeone from jail. It was all about survival and preservation.

Humanity is primarily concerned with and makes decisions based on the central motive of survival. The sense of survival can drive Man to take some unimaginable risks or to make some irrational decisions. But that ought not to be our motivation for living and our guide in decision-making. We need to live beyond the animalistic desire to survive; we must live for the higher purposes of pleasing our Maker. Survival should not be our primary reason for living as this is so unbefitting of us who are redeemed by the Blood of Christ.

“Lord, I don’t live to survive, and I will not make my decisions in life because I want to escape death. I live for You Lord, and I pray that the purposes of the Kingdom will guide my decision-making processes, more than the need for self-preservation. Amen.”