Self interest appears in the form of selfish ambition and conceit that leads people to seek control over others and over everything around them. The carnal mind operates from this self interest by coveting control at every turn. Such an approach stands opposed to the required attitude of lowliness of mind in which one esteems others better than oneself and looks out for their interests ahead of one's own. With the love of God expressed as agape love a person puts others first and does what is right and good for them. This focus on others replaces the drive for external control with the practice of self control and rigorous self mastery. The proper path therefore requires putting the flesh to death through constant self restraint so that every impulse contrary to righteousness is brought under dominion.

The deceitful heart is incurably self-centered, self-absorbed, and narcissistic in its concerns of the activities of life. Self-love is the basic sin from which all others flow. The moment a person makes his own will the center of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed. Self-love is the fundamental sin and source of all others because it substitutes sinful man for God. Love in the truest sense demands abandonment of self to God, and God alone is the adequate incentive for such abandonment. Self-love generates idolatry because the heart pushes man to consider himself more important than God, and it will seek its gratification rather than give God what pleases Him. All the rest of the evil qualities are merely acts of the way the love of self is driving the person to express himself. God allows love of self, but if it is permitted to drift into extremes, it becomes the source of all forms of mental illness. The heart will not permit consistent obedience to the commandments to love God above all and others as self because it is so self-centered. No character of any value to God's kingdom can be created in one with a deceitful heart. As the deceitful heart regains the upper hand, it influences people back to a life of self-absorption.

Human nature consists of a poisoned mixture of good and evil in which self-interest almost always has the last word. This nature remains after baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit, skewing lives toward sin despite new understanding and motivation. In the Corinthian congregation, members pursued their own interests without regard for effects on family members or the church, leading to factions, immorality, and unresolved disputes. They justified tolerance of perversions by claiming it demonstrated agape, yet their actions revealed self-centered motivations rather than service to others. The apostle Paul contrasts this pattern by refusing to exercise his apostolic rights for personal advantage. Instead, he became a servant to all, using his freedom to support the gospel and help others reach the Kingdom of God. He achieved this through self-mastery that subordinated carnal desires to the single goal of eternal life. Without such control, efforts remain unproductive because human nature continues to assert self-interest over commitment to God.