Am I the only one who ever questioned the personality of God? I mean, do we really know Him… His character… His nature… and the reasons behind His motives for creating us?
Having read about the qualities of a narcissistic personality, I began to discover that a few elements identified with the God of the Bible.
Q. What is Narcissism? Or what are the characteristics of a narcissistic person?
Narcissism as described by Merriam Webster is an extremely self-centered individual with an exaggerated sense of self-importance, marked by or characteristic of excessive admiration of, or inflation with, oneself.
Britannica states that narcissism is characterized by an inflated self image and addiction to fantasy by an unusual coolness and composure shaken only when the narcissistic confidence is threatened, and by the tendency to take others for granted or to exploit them.
Narcissists want positive feedback about themselves and they actively manipulate others to solicit or coerce admiration from them.
So, how does this all relate to God the Father? Well, let’s see what we know about Him through the Scriptures and compare the qualities that are revealed to those of the narcissist…
The Bible states that “In the beginning, God…” So, we know that God existed before anything else did. He was alone in three Persons (as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.) Because He was alone (or was He lonely?) He decided He wanted companionship and so He created a world- heavens and earth- from which came forth creation in the form of angels, vegetation, animals and mankind.
He made mankind in His image, ascribing to them attributes that He had. However, He maintained His omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence, allowing Himself the ability to retain His sovereignty over His creation.
Now, remember this: God made man for Himself for His own pleasure, but is mankind His toys, or pawns, or servants/slaves? We had no say in this entire scenario/drama/play of God’s Life Story which He chose to write. We simply showed up (Act 1, Scene 1). And so it began…
Adam and Eve: the first perpetrators.
They made a mess of everything. Their disobedience to God led to disciplinary measures from their Creator, which led to a generational history of suffering and pain. We all ended up being a part of their irresponsible actions and as a result, continue to pay the price and consequences of their sin. How about that?
So now, no matter what, nothing good that we try to do could ever alleviate that issue and we became stuck in the cycle of misery. And so, we pray to a God who says that He hears and answers prayer yet nothing seems to change as the years keep passing and the prayers keep flowing and the problems keep increasing. Okay then.
Now, because of the blunders of two, several suffer.
But wait! God had a plan! He made a way out--- a solution--- an option, to rescue and redeem and save us from our calamity. He made Himself the scapegoat; He became the Savior who would take our sins and mess-ups away so that the relationship He had originally planned to have with us, which was broken because of Adam and Eve’s faux pas, could be re-established.
The Plan:
God’s plan was to become a man in human form and arrive on the earth, place all mankind’s burdensome sins upon Himself and, by taking man’s place, would die on their behalf so that they wouldn’t have to pay that awful price of death.
So, enters God the Son: Jesus Christ the Messiah (Act 2000, Scene 1) who was born, lived 33 years and died; but from death, He was resurrected, returning to heaven to once again retain His seat at His Father’s side. Great plan, right? Who could write a better story than that? Substitionary season…
So, we thought- this is great! We no longer have a negative fate. But wait! Life doesn’t get better- it gets worse! Why? Because when man accepted this plan, he was unaware of the enemy that was in the background behind the scenes, who had been making wily tactics and strategies to wage war with us. This enemy, the devil, Satan, is mad because we chose to return to God instead of following his world and its wicked ways. And so, the pain and suffering became heightened- it doesn’t cease! We continue to cry out for God to help us. We need the Savior to deliver us.
(By the way, Jesus, having had returned to the comfort of His throne in heaven, didn’t completely abandon us but had left us God the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinitarian Godhead Union.)
The prayers go up, but somehow the blessings and favor seem few and rarely come down. Folks pray the Bible’s promises for years waiting for their answers to be fulfilled yet in many instances never receive them. Hoping, praying, wishing, expecting, waiting, anticipating…. Yet nothing arrives in their earthly inbox. And if they occasionally do, at times the opposite response for which they prayed happens. Prayers for healing sometimes end up in death; prayers for financial blessing sometimes end up in poverty; prayers for salvation for loved ones sometimes end up with negative situations. It’s as if God turned away or plugged His ears to their constant cries. I mean, if He did that with His own Son who cried out to Him on the cross, why should those He called His own not expect the same response? Makes sense, right?
So, here we go. The drama continues…
If you recall, there was a period of 400 years between Malachi and Matthew where it is documented that the Israelites heard nothing from God. No messages. No words of hope. No communication. Nothing! Nada! 400 years of silence! Does that feel like when your prayers are hitting a ceiling or a brick wall, as if they’re somehow not getting through? Or could it be that God just may not be listening to you? He hears, perhaps but… is He listening?
When God completed His creation process in 6 days, the Bible says He rested on Day 7. He rested! He’s resting from His labor. He’s no longer working because He’s done all He’ll ever do!
When Jesus came to earth, He fulfilled His mission. He sacrificed His life for ours by accomplishing God’s purpose and plan. On His death, Jesus said, “It is finished!” That meant He did all He’d ever do. He completed the assignment and returned to heaven where He sits. Sits! He’s not actively working anymore for anybody! He left us with a message that we continue on to do the work as His representatives.
Back to slave labor for the good of the gospel. Oh boy!
So, here we have it… in a nutshell:
A lonely God made man for relationship.
Relationship was interrupted by 2 people who interacted with a deceitful devil.
We, as a result today, are paying for their screw-up of sin.
The penalty for sin is death which God didn’t want us to pay so He decided He would do so in human form as Jesus (God in the flesh.)
Because of all He did for us, we now worship and adore Him always, in good and bad times, no matter what.
We are told to pray constantly and at all times to Him because, well, we just may get our prayers answered. We rejoice whenever we receive a positive response, now and again, Yet, we are stumped in disbelief and grief when there is stone cold silence.
We continue to submit to Him out of fear, awe and reverence in obedience to what He desires of us. If we don’t, we will be treated as rebels and receive a touch of disciplinary measure from His hand. Or He just may allow Satan the honor and privilege of buffeting us or pricking us with tactical weapons and fiery darts as he did with Job. He may even allow some extreme suffering as He did in the lives of the apostles: in persecutions, arrests, beheadings, etcetera. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens or disciplines… remember? So, the more serious the disciplinary measure, the greater the love He shows that He has for us. What a concept!
So now, here we are… trying to comprehend why we’re like crabs in a barrel, stuck in a life cycle from which we cannot release ourselves. I mean, the Lord giveth (Life) and the Lord taketh away (Life), blessed is the name of the Lord.
We are waiting for our time to be taken; that day when our breath that was originally given by our Creator will be removed from our decaying bodies. It’s out of our control and in the hands of a sovereign God; a God who says that we are His instruments… clay in the Potter’s hands… vessels that are used for His honor or dishonor. And to top it all off, if we’re not living righteous, honorable, pleasing lives that lead us on the narrow pathway, we’ll end up in the pit of hell where there’ll be burning and gnashing of teeth….
What a really miserable eternal existence!
So, how can you win? How can you escape from this scenario smelling like a rose in this crazy drama called Life?
We’ll never know who makes it in one piece on the other side until we get there. It’ll be quite surprising to see how it all unfolds.
The only One who knows the beginning from the end is the One who penned the Book. He has only shared parts, not the whole. Some of us are still trying to figure out what His will for our lives really is. For some unknown reason, we have to seek to discover that as well. I mean, you’d think that if we were involved in this Life Story, the complete script would have been presented to us to peruse, review and notate, right?
Meanwhile, the earth continues as it always has for thousands of years, revolving on its axis, as mankind tries to figure out life as he knows it on his own.
Meanwhile, God the Father and His Son continue to sit on their thrones far above their servant earthlings who minister to them day and night, praising and praying, hoping and waiting to receive some semblance of scraps of favor and blessing from their Master’s divine table.
Narcissism definitely rears its ugly head in these scenes that are being played out. God, at a distance, doesn’t seem involved in the lives of His creation. Although He glories in the adulation and adoration shown by His creation, He seems apathetic to their plight of pain and suffering as it continues day after day, month after month, year after year without relief in sight. Poverty prevails. Deaths don’t dwindle. Healings aren’t happening as often as expected. Nations are in turmoil as crime and violence escalate. People are frustrated, depressed and suicidal. It’s a real mess!
But we can do nothing. It’s all out of our control. Each day, we get up hoping that it’s a good day. We’re not sure what to say or how to pray. We’re unsure if we’ll be faced with some tragedy or something that will bring us joy. We’re not even sure if we’ll see another day.
Should we even try to approach God to reason with Him? I mean, doesn’t He want us to approach Him without fear? Yet, if we do go to Him, what can we really say to the All-Omniscient One? If He already knows our heart, then He knows what will be emitted from our lips. If He knows all things, who are we to conduct a conversation with an All-Wise and knowledgeable Being? Like Job, wouldn’t we be silenced in His presence? Regardless of what we say, God is always right. So, there’s that….
God can do what He wants, when He wants, to whoever He wants...and He owes not one of us an explanation. Yet, He desires an intimate relationship with His most prized possession- Man!
You couldn’t put all this in a Hallmark movie if you tried, folks! In what type of movie genre would you categorize this drama? I would love to know your thoughts.
Comments