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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Is God Self-Centered?


What does God love most?

I have to admit, I am one of those really annoying people who likes to ask questions that may shake up other people's worldviews. I like for Christians to question what they have always "heard" to be true. I like to see people really think about and examine their theology.

So, today, in our Bible study group I asked a question: What does God love most? The responses were interesting. 

Someone said, "Me."

Another said, "Us."

One brave soul said, "Himself."

Remember, we humans are sinful. Sinful = selfish and egocentric to the hilt. We like a religion in which everything revolves around us. We like the thought that above everything else, God is thinking of us. But, that simply is not true. God puts himself first. God loves himself most. Yes, God is self-centered.

Please, hear me out.

God's nature demands that he is self-centered. God has to be self-centered in order to be sinless. The Bible commands, "You shall have no other Gods before me." Therefore, God must be number one on His own priority list, or He would be committing idolatry. A god that committed idolatry would be sinful. A god that is sinful is not the God of the Bible.

When we are self-centered it is sinful, because we put ourselves before God. It is a sin to put anything above God. But, when God is self-centered it is righteous, because He puts nothing above himself. 

The fact that God puts himself above all else is beneficial to all of creation. He doesn't let anything stop his plans. He can love us with a pure and perfect love, because he does not idolize anything or anyone above Himself. And because He is perfect, He could die for us and satisfy his own wrath against sin. 

At first this truth is unsettling, especially if you have been repeatedly exposed to a man-centered view of God and the gospel.  However, if we really understand this truth it is actually comforting. We can rest assured that everything that God allows or appoints to happen is not about our happiness, safety, or well-being, but for His glory. We can humbly accept whatever trails we face because we know our God would only allow them to happen if they were the thing that would bring Him the most glory.

Yes, God is self-centered, but this is a beautiful and wonderful truth. When we grasp that Himself and His own glory are what is most important to God, it becomes most important to us as well.

3 comments:

  1. You have such a way of putting things into words that are so hard to say! I always stutter when people say things like, "God wants me to be happy." I mean, if God's plan makes us happy then that is true. It isn't like any time sad things happen that it is Satan even though that is what people like to believe. Too many people have God and Santa Claus mixed up. It is so hard to explain to people that what makes us sad, cry, disappointed, devastated, can very well be God working His plan. God's plan is what is most important, not our happiness. But, you said it so well. Thanks so much for this post!

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    1. Maria, thank you so much for your encouragement. You are exactly right that God cares more about His plan than our happiness. He is in control of EVERYTHING the good, the bad and the in-between. Satan doesn't catch Him off-guard and Satan can do nothing except what God permits. :) It is so important for us to understand this, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult circumstances.

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  2. I had never thought of that! This is a beautiful post and so incredibly true and yet something I never would have thought of myself. I love it when you said "He doesn't let anything stop his plans. He can love us with a pure and perfect love, because he does not idolize anything or anyone above Himself." It really puts this thought in to perspective!

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