The Divine Egotist – Is God Arrogant, Selfish, or Megalomaniacal?

http://www.christianpost.com/Opinion/Columns/2009/02/the-divine-egotist-is-god-arrogant-selfish-or-megalomaniacal-26/index.html

[The Christian Post] 26 Feb 2009--Is the God of the Bible the supreme egotist? That question arises when human beings contemplate the meaning of the truth that God does everything for the sake of his own glory. Is God then a megalomaniac?

Human beings are trapped in a human frame of reference. When we think of motivation, we inevitably start with our own self-conscious knowledge of our own motivations. For a human to seek his or her own glory is narcissism in purest form. Human egotism is constantly on display. And, if we are honest, we know that we seek our own glory as a reflex.

In reality, this is the essence of sin. Our desire for glory is inherently idolatrous and selfish. Paul describes this perfectly in Romans 1:22-23: "Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." This exchange that robs God of his glory is the very heart of sin. We want the glory that is God's alone.

When we think of God, our reflex is to think in human terms. We are trapped in the knowledge that our efforts to glorify ourselves are perverse. Yet, if we are to think rightly of God, we must think in infinitely different terms, and the only way we can do this is by the gift of revelation. God must give us even the frame of reference with which we can think of him, and he does so in his Word.