Selfishness, the Parent of Crime

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 26, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 26.

Selfishness, the Parent of Crime

Selfishness is the parent of crime. All crime and corruption, both in public and private life, finds its origin in self! self! Every drop of blood shed in battle, every tear coerced by poverty, every sigh for “lost happiness” in life, is a tribute—yes, a sacrifice—demanded in the worship of self. Two thousand years of Christianity have scarcely made an impression on the “old evil,” for it is a notorious and disgusting fact, that an appeal to man’s baser instincts brings a readier response than an appeal to his higher nature.