The identity of a person is determined through a lot of factors. As a social and rational being our behavior is greatly affected by the genes that we inherited from our ancestors and our surroundings. And as we learned to socialize with other people we acquire new traits and behavior both positive and negative. And getting the character into our system is either unintentional or intentional. It is unintentional in the sense that the person is forced to act that way because of some certain reasons. Thus, we cannot escape from showing our character or behavior in most situations. We have created a value for ourselves it might peculiar to some, and amazing for the many yet it's still depend on us on how we are going to use these values to our advantage. One of the most common Filipino values is "Self-interest". For me it is like a double-edge sword, it is so sharp that it can cut anything but if your not expert enough to use it, it can cut you in one slash.
For years, this has become the source of corruption that continuously deteriorate man's philosophy. However, we might wanna consider why people have self-interest to begin with. What does it do good to them? And what makes it bad for them? First let us define "self-interest", it is regard for one's own interest or advantage, with disregard for others. It is undoubtedly good when self-interest is used to achieve something within our means. It is significantly bad if used beyond the walls of our morality and conscience. In a student's perspective it will make you become a competitive student in a negative way. He prefers to become selfish just to be on the top up to the point of bribing the teacher. Self -interest makes the student fame, it makes his friends admire him yet unknowingly he will be an honorable dishonor that is being on the top but unqualified. Many times even in elementary years, the children are already exposed to this scandalous agenda. So when they grow up they will carry the value wherever they will be and in whatever they do. Like for instance in an office, self interest can lead into corruption when your target is not achievable within the period of time that you set for yourself. There are a lot of employees aiming for one position, and to get that he/ she indulge himself/herself to moral perversion.
Self interest is common in people who desire to have a better life. I mean, who would not want to live a life of convenience? When does it become a negative factor? As self-interest intensifies, a person is no longer in control of oneself and thus, will be corrupted by its own ambition and desire to become great. He is oblivious of how he affected the people around him. When criticisms arrive,he will be in denial because he is too blind to accept what he have committed. And even if he is aware, he will still find ways to protect his interest up to his last stance. Thus, his interest will also be the reason of his downfall. One fact, many unscrupulous politicians who are happy to sell their names to be voted are under investigation and are impeached if proven guilty. What drives people to let self -interest to be the root of all corruptions? Everything associated with self-interest and corruption boils down to power, money and everything of their advantage. There are lots of reason why people still did it, but i will only emphasize three things. One is poverty. I think it's very obvious. People allow themselves to be used and overpowered by interest to survive poverty. Why? No further explanations,they need to. Next is power. People never find contentment and will always seek more to be above others. Because if you have the power you have the ability of controlling people. And last is money, it is the most significant aspect that drives people to let self-interest controlled them. Let's face it, it makes the world go round without it, life is like living without a lifeline. So we are left without a choice. How can we defeat the urge of submitting ourselves to our own "self-interest"? Do we always close our eyes in order for us not to see the truth? If people are only contented with what they have, satisfied with what they can achieve, and happy with how life blessed them, self-interest would no way be more powerful than ourselves. Live a frugal life. And as as a Christian, we should live our lives in accordance with God's plans and that is to follow his teachings and his commandments. By any chance, do we happen to realize that self-interest is not at all one of them?
