I want to be God

Seeking to take God’s glory is the first sign of corrupt self-love, and self-idolatry.

Our Pastor told a story on Sunday about a time when he and his wife were visiting his wife’s elderly and ailing father. During their visit the elderly man went on and on about a pie that his other daughter had made for his last birthday. It was the best pie he’d ever had. Not even his late wife had ever made a pie that good. The old man said that he sure hoped that daughter made another pie for his next birthday. When the visit was over, as they walked to their car, our Pastor remarked to his wife, “Dad sure liked the pie that your sister made. We’ll have to remind her to make another one this year.” His wife replied, “I was the one who made that pie.”

There aren’t many people who can’t relate or can’t imagine what it would feel like to hear someone else getting the glory for something that you’d worked so hard to make perfect. Sure it was just a pie. But regardless of how big or small the affront, our nature reacts.

Here’s my point. Taking God’s credit is what atheists spend a life-time practicing. And then, they comment on how inappropriate it is for God to express anger at those who reject Him. They call Him small minded. They call Him petty. Atheists spend a great deal of time mocking the God they don’t believe in.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” That is a theme that is found from the beginning to the end of the Bible. So why is God such a stickler in this area?
. Could it be that those who are proud have nothing to be proud of?
. Could it be that there is nothing for which they should be taking credit?
. Could that be why it’s such an offence to say, “By my might and by my power I have made myself great?”
. Could it be that our Heavenly Father is so upset because it is precisely that kind of thinking that will ensure that we spend eternity in the total absence of His Love?

Consider the following:
. You and your friend frame houses. Someone remarks to your friend what a great number of houses he’s completed in the last year and you hear him say, “I did it pretty much all by myself. I’ve got another guy helping but most of the time it’s me doing the work.”

. Your team wins the game and a teammate tells the reporter, “They couldn’t have done it without me.”

. Someone remarks what good children you and your husband have. He leans over and whispers, “It’s because of me. My wife does next to nothing around the house.”

. When you were in grade five, you and your little brother wanted to surprise your parents when they got home from work. The two of you wash the dishes and sweep the floor. When mom comes through the door you hear your brother tell her, “I did it all by myself mom. Bret didn’t help me at all.”

. You walk into the office just in time to hear your boss congratulating a co worker for an ingenious plan that will save the company a pile of money. The plan was yours.

. You’re lying on the grass outside of a burning house. You’re fighting for breath after having just made it out with a child in your arms. The firefighters are holding an oxygen mask to her face. Had you not gone into the house once again, she would have never made it out alive. You hear another man tell reporters that what he did was nothing special. “When it comes to a child’s life, I had no choice but to go in and get her.”

. You and a colleague are close to finding a cure for lymphoma. The two of you have worked on this project for ten years. You find the faulty gene and you go to the press with a story that makes it look like you and you alone have made this huge step.

It is God who brought the universe into existence. It is God who set every single constant and value just so. It was God who brought about the mechanism for life to come about on earth. All this and much more is enough to point the open-minded to His existence. Atheists block all this out and instead of humbly acknowledging their gratefulness and indebtedness, they ignore God, reject His presence in their life, and tell people that they've done it all themselves.

“God? Who’s God? Never heard of Him. As far as I know, He doesn’t even exist.”

Intensely in love with Self

Do you see yourself as a better driver or a worse driver than most people?

When you see a group photo of which you are a part, what do you look at to judge whether it’s a good picture or not?

You’re backing out of a parking spot. Someone drives right behind you forcing you to slam on the brakes. Who do you believe should be yielding to the other? How about when you’re driving in a parking lot and someone else is backing out of their spot right in front of you?

When a relationship has ended, whose fault is it, yours or theirs?

That’s called self-love.

There's No Such Thing As Self-hate

"Clearly the greater a person’s self-esteem and self-love, the more disappointment there will be if abilities and performance are not comparable. No one hates himself, but he may hate his circumstances or appearance or lack of ability. The very fact that we dislike our appearance or lament our inability or become upset when people or circumstances cause us pain is proof that we do love ourselves. For if we did not esteem ourselves we should not care, and if we hated ourselves we would be glad when things go against us." Hunt and McMahon (1985)
I remember a client coming to a therapy group that I used to run. This was a young man who, until that day, consistently stated that he hated himself. The other people in the group would nod their heads in understanding, because we’ve all been taught that our problems arise from not loving or esteeming ourselves enough. Well, one day this young man came to group and stated, "I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love himself." The other men and women looked at him like he was nuts, and a couple of them said as much. But this very insightful person asked the legitimate question, "If I hated myself, or even disliked myself, what am I doing here, trying to make my life better?" As we continued to process this issue, the people in the group, with a high degree of self-honesty, began to discover things like, "If I disliked someone and his wife left him, I’d think, right on! The jerk deserves it. But when my wife left me I was devastated." And, "If I thought little of, or looked down on someone and she lost her job, I’d silently think to myself, good. I’m glad. But when I lost my job I felt like I was really treated unfairly, that I deserved better."
Of course some brought up the point that, people who harm themselves physically are proof positive that true self-hate exists. However if you explore the "whys" with people who have burned or cut, or gouged themselves, you will consistently find that they were (1) trying to distract themselves from emotional pain, or (2) find release from worry, or (3) find a sense of freedom from control, or (4) they derive a sense of pleasure from self-inflicted pain. It lets them know they’re alive.
This drive for happiness, or relief from emotional pain is present in every behaviour from eating your favourite cereal, to going to or, staying home from the movies, and yes even slashing your arms or drinking too much.
"Out of self-love we not only do good things, but all sorts of injurious things to ourselves and to others: We commit adultery, we lie, we steal, we eat too much, and even commit suicide" (Adams, 1986).
Blaise Pascal, one of the greatest thinkers of all time once said,
"All people seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it is the same desire in both, attended with a different view. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every person, even of those who hang themselves."
Regardless of what happens to us, our core of self-love (self-protection) remains firmly intact. When challenged by abuse, or neglect, or rejection, the fundamental characteristic of self-protection will react. When challenged vigorously it will react dramatically, either aggressively or passively. Whether consciously, or subconsciously, we choose our behaviours in an effort to protect ourselves, because we love ourselves. I can think of no exceptions.
While trying to understand this concept, one person argued that he thought so little of himself as a teenager, that he would cross the street to avoid talking to some of the popular kids if he saw them coming. That sounds like a genuine case of low self-esteem. However the reason he crossed the street was to protect himself from possible or expected embarrassment. You do that for someone that you love, not for someone you dislike or hold in low esteem. And you sure don't do it for someone that you hate.
The fact is, it is just not human nature to protect those we dislike or especially those we hate. We always, always, always do those things that we believe, will protect us, because we love ourselves. That is why the statement, "I hate or I dislike myself," should be changed to a more accurate, "I hate or dislike what I do." And thank God for that, because we can change what we do." As well, the statement, "I don’t love myself" should be changed to, "I have never learned how to love myself in a way that doesn’t make my life worse than it already is."