David Henderson was on Christmas break as a senior in college when he finished reading Ayn Rand’s novel, “Atlas Shrugged.” He was at a point in life where he was seeking truth and the book made a lot of sense to him. Ayn Rand’s premise was that putting your effort anywhere short of meeting your own needs is foolish and self-destructive. Your own happiness is the highest moral purpose; selfishness is the greatest virtue.
In a moving finale, lead character John Galt argues passionately, “A doctrine that give you, as an ideal, the role of a sacrificial animal seeking slaughter on the altar of others is giving you death as your standard.”
David had finished the book just before joining some friends for dinner. When he sat down at the table he found they were in the middle of a discussion. They were talking about how they, as followers of Jesus, could become less preoccupied with themselves and more concerned for others.
Fuses started blowing in David’s brain. He blurted out, “Don’t you see what a waste that is? It’s the moral equivalent of suicide, throwing your life away on other people!”
But his friends knew something that David had yet to learn: Jesus inverts everything. He takes all the world’s values and turns them on their head. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his practice of calling us to self-abasing servants.