Is individualism a sin?

Individualism:

at dictionary.com the following were some of the definitions: a social theory that advocates the freedom, rights, and independent action of the individual person; the pursuit of individual as opposed to group interests; the doctrine that only individual things are real or that all actions take place for the benefit of the individual, not society as a whole.

"It is better to give than to receive."
I don't think most Americans or western minded people really believe this.
In some sense we might think we do, but only because we have SO much already. As I have written previously, Americans are extremely wealthy people. So we already have A LOT. Take that away and I doubt we really would want to give, or think about others.
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died, and He died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again."

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

The focus for the Christian life is to be Jesus and the glory of God. Our focus is not ourselves as individuals. This is the biblical way. This is NOT the American way.
So individualism IS a sinful philosophy and mindset that also happens to be the very waters Americans and the west live and breath in and probably we can't really hardly see, like we don't see the oxygen we breathe every moment of our lives.

Now individualism is different than being an individual. We are all individual beings. And reflecting our own tastes and uniqueness, well God gave us those. So that is fine. But when we become the focus of our lives (ie Narcissism follows closely and we look into the mirror of us and stare intently without looking away), then we have turned to individualism and a sinful air surrounds us.

An ism is a philosophy or outlook that pervades our lives, like water is the medium in which fish swim. Water is the ism of the fish. If a person holds to Marxism, they believe that all means of making money should belong to the state, there is no god, and workers must unite. A person who holds to pantheism walks each day believing that the trees and rocks and all things around them have a spiritual life of some kind that should be obeyed and served. You get the idea; isms pervade lives.

In Japan, if you dishonor your parents, this is a horrific thing to do. You must pay homage to your ancestors and to your family. You live "collectively". This is the way of life. And in general because it is a focus on others, it is better. Obviously worshipping ancestors is wrong (Only God is to be worshipped), but honoring mother and father is much more "built in" in Japanese and other Asian cultures.

In the US and most of the western world, thoughts are first on what will make me happy, and what should I pursue, and what do I need, and what I, I, I, I, I, I, me, me, me, me. This IS the water in which we live. Everything we are taught and consider is approached this way. VERY few people will ever sacrifice what he or she wants for the sake of others. Kudos to those who do, who feel responsibility to let go of dreams and personal pleasure to help family or others in life.

The first command is to love God with all we have and are, and then to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. So if we live for Jesus and the glory of God, our focus needs to be practicing this. NOT living for our individual selves. It does not mean, however, that we don;t make sure our individual needs are not met. All people do that. But we must seek to meet others needs while doing that (Philippians 2:3-4). But while we do that, we must consider at what cost will we meet them. Abortion is practiced in America PRIMARILY because individuals are not willing to accept responsibility for their choices and sacrifice their lives for others; we are not willing to love our neighbor (baby) as ourselves. This is the case statistically for 70 to 90% of the abortions that occur every year. When fathers walk out on families, they do so at the cost of living for themselves over loving their neighbor (kids and wife). It is the way of the coward and the lazy selfish pig. So at some point, if we love Jesus, we need to be willing to lay down our life (in other words really let go of what we think will fulfill us) so that we can help someone else have their needs met. Maybe our husband or wife is less than we had hoped for. Do we let them go to find a better one to meet our needs? Individualism and the American way say YES. Do what makes you happy. We have a friend we know from college who did this and then a student that I used to teach at a Christian school who chose this path. But Jesus calls us to let go of that, accept the choice and covenant we have entered and serve the needs of the one we have married. To be content.
The reality we have really missed in all this is that NO human or earthly prize is going to ultimately make us happy and fulfill that individualist dream. People who think so are living a pipe dream. This is the whole point of the book of Ecclesiastes. ONLY God through Jesus will bring that lasting eternal joy that we all want and seek. And then it is legitimate because we are making God, and not some idol of a thing or idea, as the ultimate fulfillment of our lives. So we make our way forward in the American sludge of individualism by looking to God to practice love for others and love for Him. Looking outside of ourselves to serving others. Doing stuff for their good, not ours. Not for our comfort, but theirs. Not for our pleasure, but theirs. But since our joy is in God, it ends up working out that this service provides great joy for us. The difference? We are finding our joy in God, not in pleasing ourselves. God did not give the command to love Him and others because He needs us to obey that. He gave it to us because it is the clean waters to swim in that give life and joy, as opposed to any other way that we can try to swim in that is poisoned and brings death and despair. It is the way God is, love, and as we swim in Him we find life, hope, and joy.

So let's all swim in loving others and God, and not in ourselves as individualists. In that, there is NO life and NO joy that lasts. It will take sacrifice and letting go of what we think we need for the reality that God says we need. "It is better to give than to receive."