Is God an Egomaniac? // Ty Gibson

hey everybody wherever you are around the world i want to welcome you to storyline it's exciting because we're discovering that there are people around the world who are tuning in each week to study the word of god and to process the real significant and deep issues of life and today is no exception because we're going to delve into a subject that i think is of extreme significance and i want to get there by asking you a question what do you call a person who demands that all attention be centered on them i mean what is that a toddler a teenager god now you'll see what i mean in just a moment because the fact is that there is a theological construct or a picture of god that frames god as essentially the biggest egomaniac in the universe so the real question that we're asking in our time together is this the question is is god an egomaniac and the reason i ask the question is because there are a lot of people who are under the impression from what they've been taught and what they've picked up from christianity and other religious persuasions that that god is the ultimate narcissist that god is ultimately self-centered for example brad pitt the actor who was raised in a midwestern evangelical christian home was interviewed at one point regarding his history with christianity and it was obvious to the person interviewing him that he had turned away from christianity in fact at that point in his life brad pitt was identifying as an atheist later on he would go on to identify as an agnostic and last i knew he was reassessing his faith but at this point the interviewer asked him you know why don't you believe in god and interestingly enough brad pitt raised in an evangelical christian home said i don't understand this idea of a god who says you have to acknowledge me you have to say i'm the best then i'll give you eternal happiness if you want brad pitt goes on to explain if you won't tell god he's the best and put him as the center of everything then you don't get in he's he's hypothetically putting words in god's mouth and he's saying that that's what i was raised with that's what i was led to believe that god operates in this way so then brad pitt summarizes and it says he says it seems to me to be about ego now notice what he says this is fascinating i can't see god operating from ego so it made no sense to me now this isn't the only reason brad pitt left christianity but he names this as one of the reasons that christianity didn't make sense to him because the picture of god that was conveyed to him was one that was egocentric and i think somebody like brad pitt would know something about ego he knows it when he sees it and christianity looked to him like a religion in which the god of christianity is an ego maniac now scripture itself paints a picture of god that runs contrary to what brad pitt pushed back on but there are many religious commentators preachers pastors religious authors that describe and i won't name names you can just google this and discover one of the most prominent representatives of the christian faith in the united states of america and worldwide describes god's self-centeredness and god's holy self-centeredness the idea that that god is god and as god well who are we to call god to account well you have a point the person who is articulating this idea but you're missing the point we do not have to deduce from the pictures of god we encounter in scripture that god is an egomaniac that god is self-centered simply because he's god the idea here in much of popular christianity is that god has a right to be self-centered i mean after all he's god that god's self-centeredness is the only self-centeredness in the universe that is warranted that is justified it would be wrong the implication is for you for me to be self-centered but it is perfectly normal for god to be self-centered because god is god well scripture is full of language that may be misunderstood to portray god in this life for example psalm 50 and verse 6 we have these words inspired by the holy spirit we say inspired by god so david is writing this but david says let everything that has breath praise the lord god is inspiring david to essentially say let everything that has a breath praise me the lord let everything that has breath praise the lord the bible is full of these kinds of snapshots of of god being the center of praise and worship and detention for example in isaiah chapter 6 isaiah the prophet receives a vision in which he sees the throne room of the universe and god is surrounded by these heavenly beings and these heavenly beings are doing something they are standing according to isaiah chapter 6 and verse 3 they are standing in god's presence and they are crying out one to another and they are saying holy holy holy is the lord of hosts the earth the whole earth is full of his glory and the picture is that god is there upon his throne in the throne room of the universe and he's surrounded by these dazzling beings of brightness and all they do non-stop 24 7 is tell god how great he is holy holy holy is the lord of hosts now one of two things is going on here as as i see it and i'd like i'd like to ask you to kind of crack into this subject with with me and do some do some thinking one of two things i would suggest to you is happening in these biblical pictures of god being praised and worshiped and told that he is amazing one of two things is happening number one answer one is god demands worship because as god he deserves worship and you had better give it to him or else there's a certain emotional feeling that that answer brings to us and that emotional feeling is a feeling of obligation and yet at the same time a feeling of well a feeling of what kind of god is this what kind of person demands and again the answer in this paradigm is well he's god so it's justified but i'd like to suggest another answer answer number two might be articulated something like this god desires worship because as god he is the source of all love and life so that apart from him all we can experience is selfishness and death now the difference between these two answers to the question is god an egomaniac the answer falls into two basic categories either god is operating from a premise of position and authority i'm god you're not basic arrangement you do what i say or else i'm in charge on god position and authority in in this view god demands our worship simply because he's god and he can and has enough power to enforce enough authority to enforce his demand well the other answer that i'm suggesting is operating from a premise of purpose and identity god is seeking our thriving and flourishing and god knows that he as god is the source of everything good and beautiful and true and that we as human beings rise no higher than our highest conception of reality which is god if we see god as self-serving well then we're going to tend to be and to justify being self-serving but if we see god as not ultimately self-centered but if we see god as ultimately other centered we draw from that that there is no egocentricity in god god is not a narcissist god is a benevolent heavenly father who wants what is best for us and he knows that what is best for us is that we turn our attention outward away from ourselves to him in whom there is no ego in whom there is no narcissism in whom there is no self-centeredness he is the one upon whom we focus in order to be liberated from selfishness god is ultimate not by virtue of mere position and authority but god is ultimate by virtue of his character in which there is a purpose that you and i would have an identity and a character like god's character so i want to unpack a passage of scripture that essentially gives this answer to the question of whether or not god is the ultimate narcissist in psalm 63 verses 3 through 5 please notice these words very carefully david under inspiration says to god because your loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise you this is fascinating you guys why do our lips praise god why does david say that his lips praise god well because god's love itself is better than life itself so in this scripture what we have is a relationship between the love of god and life but you'll notice that god's love occupies the higher position in the hierarchy life is lower on the totem pole so to speak than god's love i mean think about the basics of life the basic necessities of life well first of all you need at the most essential level you need oxygen after oxygen you need water after water you need food after food you need shelter after shelter you need life itself that all those previous factors contribute to but according to this passage there is something that is actually more important than life itself more important than oxygen more important than water more important than food more important than life and that thing that occupies the pinnacle of value in the value system of scripture is the love of god god's love according to david god's love is better than life itself the implication is that without god's love as the defining feature of our life life is drained of its meaning it is drained of its significance and so according to scripture we see that the only viable existence that is the only existence that is legitimate and that has within it the principles of sustainability the only viable existence is an existence that is censored outside of self i don't exist for me you don't exist for you as a human being you and i created in the image of god were designed mentally emotionally physically designed for other centeredness and we gradually enter into various levels of dysfunction and finally disaster and finally death when we live for ourselves the only viable existence is an existence that is centered outward which is simply to say the only viable existence is an existence that is defined by love or other centeredness well the scripture goes on in psalm 63 thus will i bless you while i live i will lift up my hands in your name this is profound david just said god's love is better than life itself therefore i will praise you with my lips thus i will bless you he goes on to say i will bless you god i will direct my attention to you i will give my adoration my praise my worship to you why well because as i lift up my gaze my hands my heart my affections to god i am emancipated from self-centeredness because god himself in david's understanding is defined by other centeredness when i turn my attention to god i'm not turning my attention to the ultimate narcissist i'm turning my attention to the ultimate lover when i turn my attention my worship my adoration to god i'm not turning my attention to the only egomaniac who's allowed to be an egomaniac because he's god and we're not no i'm turning my attention to a god who is defined by love itself god is the antithesis of egoism and therefore he alone is worthy of our worship our praise our adoration and as we turn our attention to him we too like him become free of egoism narcissism self-centeredness i give my heart to him not because he alone is legitimately self-centered but because he alone is the source of all other centeredness and i become who i really can be when i give him my full undivided worship and adoration well david goes on and he makes another point he says to god my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips well first of all i want to just point out that david is not rendering here a kind of formal duty-bound obligatory worship it's not grueling to him he is full of joy as he worships god because he sees things in god that evoke joy he sees things in god not only that evoke joy but bring satisfaction fulfillment to him as a human worshiper of the one and only true god he says that as i worship god i experience satisfaction like like my health is increased with marrow and fatness these are metaphors of course marrow and fatness here are symbolic poetically of just being in robust good health thriving health flourishing health i will myself be elevated in the quality of my existence as i give my time and attention and worship to god again not because god is the ultimate narcissist and the only legitimate narcissist but because god is the antithesis of narcissism he's the opposite of self-centeredness and so he alone is worthy of our worship by virtue of the fact that god is love love love only and forever love god therefore changes me as i focus on him so we might say it this way point number two from psalm 63 not only is the only viable existence in existence that is centered outside of myself but the only truly satisfying existence is an existence that is centered outside of myself this is what david is saying he's saying not only does my life itself have viability when i worship god no it's something more than even viability it's viability plus satisfaction i am satisfied i am fulfilled that is i am enabled to flourish and to grow and to to become everything that i'm capable of becoming in the image of a god who is anything but egocentric this is fascinating because what we're talking about here is the nature of things the way things are the way things operate in the universe we're not talking about god coming along and throwing his weight around as god because he's god we're not talking about god operating from ego and obligation upon us we're talking about the nature of things and c.s lewis very clearly articulates this idea he says now watch this god made us well what do you mean by that louis god made us that is god invented us as a man invents an engine let that register let that just sink in when we say that god created us that god made us we mean that god designed us god engineered us god invented us as a human being might invent an engine what does this mean well c s lewis then draw some conclusions he says a car is made to run on petrol on gasoline and it would not run properly on anything else i mean you can't put kool-aid or orange juice or macaroni and cheese in an engine and expect it to operate the way it's supposed to operate the thing is designed to operate on petrol and that is its fuel source well c.s lewis goes on and he says now god designed the human machine to run on himself just just grasp the significance of this idea god designed the human machine to run to operate to perform optimally on himself what does he mean on himself well he himself god is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn or the food our spirits were designed to feed on this is so significant you guys because we shouldn't see god as merely exerting authority over us because he can for his sake as the ultimate egomaniac in the universe and the only legitimate egomaniac in the universe because he's god it's not okay for human beings to be self-centered but god is god and therefore it's legit for god to operate from a premise of self-centeredness no the exact opposite is true we're talking here about the nature of things we're talking here about the idea the concept that god is a particular kind of god god is love that is to say god is anything but egocentric and that god who is love created human beings in god's own image that is to say god created us to love like god loves and how does god love with selflessness god is utterly and completely other centered in his orientation to everyone and everything god has never experienced a nanosecond of self-centeredness all god has ever known we could say experienced is love every thought every feeling every action of god is an action a thought a feeling that is centered on the well-being of others so lewis says listen god made us the way a person would make an engine we're made to burn the fuel of god's love as the energy source as the food of our very existence and we're only operating in the parameters within the parameters of our true nature apart from the fall apart from sin apart from our rebellion but when we are who we are really meant to be we are operating from the premise of other centeredness as god operates from the premise of other centeredness there is no other there is no other fuel source there is no other food right this is what lewis is saying that is why it is just no good watch this that is why it's just no good asking god to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion now he's using the word religion here in the sense of a vital connection with god not religion as in religious systems and in all the horrible things that religious institutions have imposed upon humanity down through history but religion in the good sense religion in the pure sense lewis is telling us that it's no good telling god to just let us be happy in our own way apart from religion why well god cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself because it is not there lewis says there is no such thing let that register god leave me alone let me just do my own thing apart from any relationship with you listen listen lewis is essentially saying that we as human beings are utterly and completely dependent for our existence and flourishing on god job 34 verses 14 and 15 says it this way if god were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath all life would cease and humanity would turn again to dust so we could say it this way a little more crassly but to make the point the stupidest thing a person can say to god is leave me alone god leave me alone now i'm going to suggest you that he won't leave you alone psalm 23 says that goodness and mercy follow you and me all the days of our life god is in hot pursuit of you and me he's not going to leave you and me alone as long as there's any hope that he might capture our attention and draw us to himself to experience the wonder and the life-giving power of his love he won't leave us alone but ultimately if you and i say leave me alone by our words and actions long enough god will have no choice but to leave us alone but that's not because god will have lost hope and given up on us but because we have ultimately given up entirely and completely on him to the point that there is no return to say to god leave me alone is absolutely the most idiotic thing that a human being could ever hope for or say why because god is our life and what makes god our life god is our life because god is love and as such in relationship with god we come to the place where we realize our own potential as creatures centered outside of ourselves in ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11 i'm going to give it to you with the message paraphrase because it does such a good job of articulating the idea here it's in christ paul says that we find out who we are it's in christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for just rest your mind upon that for a moment you and i when we come to jesus we come to jesus for our own sake he doesn't say come to me because i need my ego stroked by your praise god is not self-centered and that means that god is not fragile in his ego god doesn't need my praise but i need to praise him god doesn't need my worship as though he himself were compromised in his sense of self and needed somebody to tell him who how great he is god doesn't need my worship but i need to worship him because centering in him i find out who i am and what i'm living for long before we first heard of christ and got our hopes up he had his eye on us had designs on us for glorious living glorious living here means living a flourishing thriving life god has always had your best interest and my best interest at heart i only find out who i am in relation to who he is so is god an egomaniac absolutely unequivocally not is god self-centered absolutely not does god demand my worship and praise and i had better give it or else because god needs it no god is love and his love is so absolutely other centered that when i focus on him i become like him i begin to love like god loves so whoever you are wherever you are in the world praise god allow your lips to articulate his goodness and his beauty lift your hearts and voice in song to him worship god with all that you are and all that you have not because god is the ultimate narcissist who demands but rather because god is the ultimate lover who gives and as we turn our attention to him we become lovers who give as well father in heaven thank you for the good god that you are thank you for the fact that you love me that you love us and that your love is better than life itself father we have come to the realization that the only viable existence is an existence that is centered outside of ourselves and that the only satisfying existence is an existence that is centered outside of ourselves and you are that great center outside of ourselves because we for you are your great center outside of yourself thank you for loving us in jesus name amen

Channel: Storyline Church

Views: 3,558

Rating: 4.939394 out of 5

Keywords: storyline church, ty gibson

Id: tBcULGnLKBE

Length: 33min 54sec (2034 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 14 2021