The Idol of Self

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You have everything you need. A good job, a house, the car that you want. Individual freedom to follow your dreams, be who you want to be, do what you want to do, go where you want, when you want, dress in the latest fashion—the god of freedom, an idol. Your desires define your path. That is your identity. And each day you strive to build on this identity because it isn’t fixed. It evolves based on what you feel and think. There is no rest in this identity. It is an endless pursuit of self.

The idol of self isn’t like other things we can point to because the finish line is ever moving. We always want to be something or someone more than we are. How much are you thinking about these things?

But when did this thinking of self begin?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, “’You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5).

Eve. She desired to be something she wasn’t, having knowledge of good and evil like God. It wasn’t because there wasn’t perfectly good fruit in the rest of the garden. Eve fell to the idol of self. Satan got her to overthink about all she could have but didn’t. From that moment on, humanity began the race with itself, to run continually seeking to be something we are not. Overthinking about ourselves and forgetting to think about God.

God created us in his image but not to be gods. Our present cultural norm of self-sufficiency says we don’t need anyone or anything to be successful. God? Why would you need God in your everyday decisions and thinking? What we forget is this deception in thought started in the Garden of Eden.

The basic definition of self-sufficient is problematic in and of itself. “Needing no help in satisfying one’s basic needs, like food.” Last I checked, we are very dependent on not only others, but also on things wildly outside of our human control when it comes to food. Last I checked, we don’t control the rain or sunshine required to grow crops. While we have created technologies to help supply water when there isn’t any for crops or livestock during a drought, we control less than we believe.

The secondary definition of self-sufficient is emotionally and intellectually independent. Eve was seeking intellectual independence when she ate the forbidden fruit. She wanted self-sufficiency.

When I think about the Garden of Eden and the beauty, provision and abundance described, my mind drifts off to a place where there was peace and a oneness with the Lord. Yet Eve was tempted. In perfect communion with the Lord, she wanted intellectual independence from God!

Thanks to Eve, we don’t live in Eden, and ever since the fall, the volume of temptation to self-sufficiency has been dialed up to a fevered pitch with everything in our midst competing against our thoughts of God! Peace and oneness with him seem elusive, even for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our days are filled with temptation to lean into idols that make us overthink about ourselves and think less about Jesus! Let’s call these the idols of self. Basically, anything that prioritizes thinking of “self” above everything and everyone else, most importantly, thinking about yourself more than God.

That fevered noise in our culture about how we can overthink ourselves is anything but peaceful.

Appearance. How much are you thinking each day about your appearance? Has this become an idol of self? This can manifest in so many ways so let’s just consider a few. Wanting to dress professionally and look nice for work is one thing, but has this become something that takes up a lot of your thinking? Do you worry about what other people are wearing? Do you comment on other people when they are dressed differently? What about your hair and makeup? Are you skipping devotional time with the Lord to make sure you look the best? Are you watching fashion reels on social media or shopping online instead of reading your Bible? Do you seek attention by what you are wearing and get an extra charge when someone compliments the way you look?

On average, women spend between $1,500-$2,000 on clothing and $1,000-$3,700 on beauty products and services annually. Again, this is average, and most studies will tell you the more you make at work, the more you will spend on average. Other costs to consider are gym memberships and other cosmetic services many women are using to stay looking their best!

None of this is truly “bad” but when you overthink it and it becomes an idol, anything good can quickly become a slippery slope leading you away from your identity in God and closer to what our noisy culture is demanding of you.

Remember the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

If you overthink your appearance, what does this indicate about your heart?

Sovereignty. Are you someone that always thinks you are right? Is the sovereignty of self an idol for you? Even believers of Jesus can get caught in this overthinking that lives to expect others to function by their own moral compass. Even if your compass is Jesus, are you lording over people with your views and pushing them away from the true gospel with your rules instead of being loving.

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers (Titus 1:10).

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth (1 Timothy 4:1-3).

God’s Word says these people must be rebuked! You cannot add “your rules” to God’s truth!

Lately, we have seen people’s thoughts on full display through social media. Somehow, we have mixed culture and politics with a message about Jesus that truly does not add up. Judgements when others don’t believe what we do or how we do are quick. When you spend time overthinking how other people aren’t like you or doing what you want them to do instead of focusing on how God would want you to show up to those that are different from you, sovereignty of self may be an idol.

There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor (James 4:12)?

We are not supposed to be the judge of others. This doesn’t mean we should shy away from providing good feedback to others in a non-judgmental way, but we need to avoid thinking we are the end all be all! The only truth is in the Word of God! Only God can truly change things and the more we overthink about our way being the right way, the less we remember God’s way!

Self-Promotion/Pride. Unfortunately, many who are overthinking about their way being the right way have a significant platform for self-promotion. Even if you don’t suffer with thoughts of self-sovereignty, are you thinking a lot about your next social media post or how many views, likes and follows you have? Is the idol of self-promotion taking ahold of your time? If you post something that you feel good about, are you overly disappointed if it doesn’t perform well? Maybe you only receive one “like”. How does this shift your mood? Are you angry or discouraged? On the other end of the spectrum, let’s say you have a following on social media—many likes and many follows. Are you spending more time thinking about these followers than you are about God?

Beyond social media, how are you promoting yourself up at work? Do you think about the next meeting and how you will comment or get noticed? Do you worry when you don’t get the last word or when another colleague receives accolades? If you lead a team, how do you balance taking credit or giving it? Are you an I or a we colleague? I did this or we worked together…

The Bible consistently warns about self-promotion and pride and not thinking of others.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12).

Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends (2 Corinthians 10:17-18)

Remembering pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are; there is no God (Psalm 10:4).

Bottom line, if you are thinking about exalting yourself and how it makes you feel, good or bad, more than you are thinking about what God tells you to do in his Word, you are overthinking about yourself!

Covetousness. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about things you want or don’t have? Even covetousness, a fancy word for jealousy, can be another way of overthinking about yourself. Described as a harmful spirit in 1 Samuel, jealousy can “rush upon us” when we least expect it. In 1 Samuel we learn how Saul is truly jealous of the attention David is receiving retuning from war. He is jealous of how people follow David, so much so that he seeks to harm David both directly and by sending him off to more conflict.

Jealousy can create so many thoughts. I wish I had clothes like her. If only, I had the opportunities so and so had. I really like that car that he drives. How can I get these things, or how can I take the good attention away from someone else and get this spotlight on me?!

Are you like Saul? Jealous and overthinking about how you wish someone wasn’t as prosperous as you? Are you plotting ways to tear them down? Has a harmful spirit rushed upon your thinking? James 3:16 tells us where jealousy and selfish ambition exist there will be disorder and every vile practice. And this is not God’s will for us!

Remember, our God will supply every need of ours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). God also chooses who he will exalt and when. We are just called to follow him!

Overthinking about ourselves is isolating. Whether we are overconsumed thinking about our appearance, thinking we are always right, deciding how we can promote ourselves, or coveting what someone else has, we are simply overthinking about ourselves! All these ways of overthinking don’t draw us closer to God or others. These patterns of overthinking can lead to isolation and even depression. We were created for unity with God and community with other believers.

Now, how can we shift this overthinking? Releasing ourselves from the culture driven notions that self is the central most important part of our life is first. People and things can never provide for our central happiness! Seeking praise from others will always disappoint us! The gospel is the direct antithesis of the culture of self-idolatry. Jesus invites us to a beautiful life of thinking about him!

Start with abiding.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15: 4-5).

Abide in my love (John 15:9).

In Jesus, you will bear much fruit! Without him, you will do nothing. Remember why you exist. It isn’t to think about yourself. You were made for God. Life itself is amazing—a gift from God each day. Turning your overthinking about yourself to thinking about God will bring joy and fulfillment beyond what you can fathom!