Self-Idolatry

Perhaps the greatest form of idolatry in my context is not of a statue but of myself.

I would suggest to you that me, myself, and I are the great gods of contemporary culture.

(But perhaps in your country or context, there is a different primary idol. This takes discernment!)

What I've noticed is that this idolatry of self can also mask itself as spiritual service. For instance, Eugene Peterson - quoted by Beale in the book I mentioned already - diagnoses how this looks:

"We've all met a certain type of spiritual person. She's a wonderful person. She loves the Lord. She prays and reads the Bible all the time. But all she thinks about is herself. She's not a selfish person. But she's always at the center of everything she's doing. 'How can I witness better? How can I do this better? How can I take care of this person's problem better?' It's me, me, me disguised in a way that is difficult to see because her spiritual talk disarms us."

Beale himself explains the problem like this: "when people put themselves at the center of all things, they reflect a greater image of themselves by artificially inflating themselves."

So let's pause and take a moment to consider how we focus on ourselves.

I trust you are already an expert on your self-perception of yourself. However, it's often become so normal for us to be self-absorbed that we need the prompt to reflect on this attitude.

And to be clear: the goal is not to hate ourselves. Rather, it is to know and value ourselves in light of knowing and loving our altogether lovely God.

This week, notice when your thoughts and conversations center on yourself—even in 'spiritual' contexts. Practice redirecting your focus toward God and others.