Wednesday: Love of Self
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3, NKJV).
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God said, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor” (Ezek. 28:17, NKJV). Lucifer deceived himself, thinking he was greater than he really was. When he said in his heart, “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14, NKJV), he revealed self-ambition, claiming rights that he did not have. Self-deception and self-ambition were two traits of Lucifer’s fallen heart.
These texts about the fall of Lucifer should tell us that, in many ways, the original sin is that of narcissism, which one dictionary defines as “inordinate fascination with oneself; self-love, vanity.” What traits, in any fallen human being, are greater indicators of self-deception than these?
Yet these traits are more common than one might think. Nebuchadnezzar arrogantly thought he was greater than he was (Dan. 4:30).The Pharisees also learned to believe this seductive fantasy (see Luke 18:11-12). Wealth, too, can lead to this same deception, if we are not careful.
Read 1 Timothy 6:10. What danger is Paul warning about here?
Paul instructs Timothy to beware of many bad kinds of people (2 Tim. 3:1-5), including “lovers of money” (NKJV). This love of money can encourage overconfidence and a grandiose attitude of self-absorption and conceit. This is because materialism imbues people who have great possessions with an inflated sense of importance. It’s easy, when one has a lot of money, to think more highly of oneself than one should. After all, everyone wants to be rich, but only a very few make it. Hence, it is easy for the rich to become self-absorbed, proud, and boastful.
| Read Philippians 2:3. How does this verse help us understand why materialism, and the attitudes it can foster, are so contrary to the Christian ideal? |
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Jesus is our example who came to humble us. His love was self-sacrificial. So, let there not be among us a spirit of pride.
Since we are mortals, we must start to think of loving each other like Jesus did. Our time on earth is very short. Therefore it is a reminder that we must live a Godly life as in the book of John 13:34-35New International Version (NIV), it reads as;
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
How do we avoid narcissistic living?
We walk with the Lord in the light of His word, then the Lord will say, "you are My people and I am your God. I will give you one heart and ONE WAY, that you may reverence Me forever, for the good of you and your children forever." Jeremiah 32:38-39. He has fufilled that promise in Jesus Christ IF we desire the Truth, and or seek which we have had not, have given of ourselves to Him, seek salvation, surrender our bad habits to Him, visualize Him, listen to and follow the Holy Spirits guidence, and tell the world what He has done for us.
Loving money and having a fascination with obtaining things gets our priorities out of order as Christians.
That can open the way to heartlessly place money and/or things before the value of people. People can even become like objects to be misused for personal advancement or to fulfill needs without a fleeting thought of the impact those actions have on the heart, mind or soul of the one misused.
God has given us ample strength through His Spirit to overcome even these things. In His mercy He can help us overcome attitudes and motivations that are based on greed and materialism.
I hear so many people who are resistant towards the Christian faith who ask, "why do we need money or ask for money when the Bible says, "that money is the root of all evil?" And people are really thinking that this is what the bible teaches and that is false. The Bible teaches that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10), a completely different meaning.
Money is not evil, how can it be? it has no mind it's just paper. But those of us (humans) with reason and intellect can have evil intentions that guide us into evil with the use of this paper. Money does not commit evil, people do.
As you know it it hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God because of selfishness. We have to continue to learn to be HUMBLE. As the lesson showed Satan had that problem of being humble.