Is God an Egotist?
October 5, 2010
Dear Friends,
One of the criticisms leveled against God by atheists is that God seems to be an egotist. He seems to constantly need praise. He appears to need people telling Him how great He is all the time.
We’ve all experienced people with inflated egos before. If these folks are not telling you how wonderful they are, they expect you to be telling them. Nobody likes a person like that. Is this what God is all about? Did He create heaven and earth solely that He could benefit from millions praising Him and dishing punishment to those who don’t?
We have things in this life that we recognize through praise as being extraordinary. We have people who have distinguished themselves and therein obtain certain appellations. We have, for example, Alexander the Great, the mighty general and king. We have great landmarks which achieve a similar distinction such as the Grand Canyon, the Great Pyramid or the Great Wall of China. Most of the time, these people, places and things obtain these reputations because, in the simplest terms, they deserve it. Even people who are not well informed on certain topics can appreciate greatness. A musical neophyte can still appreciate the works of Mozart. A person who has never shot a free throw can value a highlight reel of Michael Jordan. Few can stand at the chasm of the Grand Canyon and not be amazed at the sight of such a natural wonder. People travel the world to appreciate and offer praise to greatness in all its forms whether demonstrated in the arts, in sports, in nature, in architecture or in countless other ways.
When we talk about God, the Creator of this entire universe, words fail in the mouths of mortal men to describe His greatness. The psalmist says, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.” (Ps 18:3) This captures the essence of what this is all about. God is praised not because He needs us to praise Him. We praise Him because it is self evident that He is worthy of praise. All of the things in this world to which we ascribe greatness are absurd in comparison to the greatness of our God.
God does not need our praise. He is worthy of it. If we are so blind as not to see that, it is our loss, not His. If we can look into the face of pure love, light and truth and not appreciate it, we are really without excuse. It is an honor and a privilege to praise Him.
Now, just like a blind person cannot truly appreciate the glory of the Grand Canyon, those who are spiritually blind cannot appreciate the greatness of God. We would pity a person who cannot see the Grand Canyon while in its presence. How much more should we pity those who cannot “see” the greatness of God?
We would like to close this week’s thought with a reading of Psalm 150 for God truly is worthy to be praised.
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Have a great week,
Comments»
It seems odd that people would be resistant to recognizing how amazing God is, especially considering that God’s primary goal is to create a family of people to be called by His name who will share His Majesty, Glory and praiseworthiness…What an amazing demonstration of His love for us, that we might also have a share in Him.
Thank you for your thoughts! YBIC, Cam