Dangerous Unselfishness: The Secret Behind Martin Luther King Jr.

In his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech about tackling the unfair treatment of sanitation workers in Memphis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. challenged his listeners and Americans everywhere with these words:

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. […] That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to my job?” Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours I usually spend in the office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to them?”

A dangerous unselfishness. That is what Dr. King desired of his followers and it is what God desires of Christians. Jesus himself called his disciples to lose their lives for the sake of something greater (Matt 16:24-25). Christians are to have a selflessness that cannot be stopped, not even by the threat of their own harm.

Paul certainly displayed this kind of unselfishness. He said, “to die is gain,” (Phil 1:21). If you are a Christian, to die is to be with God. What could be better than entering into the never-ending presence of God?

Dr. King had a similar perspective. “Like anybody I would like to live a long life. […] But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. […] I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”

How much could you accomplish if it were not for the fear and worrying that hinders you?

Though it could cost you your life, the danger of a dangerous unselfishness is not only to the unselfish one. It’s even more dangerous to those who oppose him. What can you do to a man who finds joy in dying? How can you stop someone who relishes the idea of losing their life for their cause?

This is the call of the Cross of Christ. When a Christian counts Jesus as everything and everything else as nothing, they have nothing to lose (you can’t kill God). They cling to Jesus no matter what. Not even losing their own life can make them let go. That gives someone a lot of power!

This is the unselfishness Christians are called to. And this is why Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision is being and will be realized. This is what makes him unstoppable.

Dr. King was killed the day after he gave that speech. But his movement is very much alive. On the day that we remember him, let us choose to join in. The worst thing we could do is treat Dr. King like a gone memory. Let us love our enemies with our lives, like he did. Let us empathize with those who struggle, like he did. And let us fight for justice no matter the cost, like he did.

It is not likely that many of you reading this will die for your faith. But your walk with Christ, your movement, your cause, your vision will never reach it’s full potential until you are ready to die for it. This is an uncomfortable truth, but it is truth nonetheless.

The man who spends his life storing up treasures and trying to gain the world wastes his life. But the man who is ready to give up himself for the sake of someone else is living life to the fullest. In other words: to truly live, you have to be willing to die. That is the secret behind Martin Luther King Jr. and it is the secret to living a life like Christ’s.

My prayer is that we take up our crosses is pursuit of Christ. Let us lay down our lives for the sake of others and for the sake of saving our world. Let us follow Martin Luther King Jr. as he followed Christ into the Promised Land.      

The life and teachings of Martin Luther King have had a profound impact on my life, personally. I would encourage anyone who has not listened to Dr. King’s sermons and speeches (passed what the average American hears in school) to do so. You can listen to the entirety of the speech quoted above here. I thank God for what Dr. King meant to the United States and to Christianity around the world. I pray we continue to learn from him today.