From Moses to Jesus, many prophets were sent to speak to the Israelites, to warn them, in the hope they would return to God. However, the prophets were often rejected, persecuted, and killed, and even Jesus did not escape from this cruel fate. Why? Because of the self-interest of Israelites. Self-interest could mean holding on to power, retaining one's privileges, boosting one's ego, satisfying the desires of the flesh, keeping an attitude of superiority. In short, self-interest is to sacrifice anything, or anyone else, for one's own good or convenience. If the desires of self-interest are too strong to control, then one cannot help but feed them and allow them to take hold of oneself. When one is so much self-focused, the Lord starts nagging at one's conscience ceaselessly, because He loves us totally and unconditionally, even to the point of death. The deeper we go in our self-interest, the louder God's voice will echo in our hearts. At that moment, one either returns to the Lord, or totally silences his voice - and that is very dangerous for one's soul.