When “Self” Remains on the Throne

THE IDEA OF SELF worship might seem bizarre for some individuals to grasp, but in America we have become a nation of hedonists and self-worshipers. The origin of self-worship can be traced to Genesis 3:5, when the serpent said to Eve, “God knows that when you eat of [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Some translations say, you shall become as gods. After all, Eve and Adam desired to be wise like God, able to discern good and evil like God. Satan emboldened them to take into their own hands the authority that belongs to God. When Eve ate of the fruit, then offered it to Adam, this was far more than just rebellion; it was self-idolatry. At that moment, a form of self-direction took root.

Amazingly, among the rivals competing with God for power is the self. We want control over our own lives rather than submitting to the sovereignty of God. Tim Jennings writes, “Do we trust God? Do we surrender ourselves in mind, body, and spirit to Him and trust Him with our life, our future, and our well-being? Do we actively seek to fulfill the purpose God has for us? Do we accept and seek to live by divine truth… or do we reject divine truth, reality as God designed, created, and intends it, substituting it with either our own imaginings, wishes, fantasies, feelings, and desires?”¹

It is in seeking fulfillment from these desires that we dethrone Christ and enthrone self. Paul tells us, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others… have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:3-5). We must become thick-skinned against temptation and tenderhearted toward holiness. Our hearts must be brought low. David cried out to God, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psa. 51:1-2). He added, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (51:10).

To be in the Way of Christ is to put off the old self (which belongs to our former manner of life) and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, putting on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (see Eph. 4:22-24). Watchman Nee describes the course of the Christian life as (1) entering the gate, and (2) walking in the Way.² Unfortunately, too many believers keep self at the center, allowing self to define reality, allowing feelings, desires, emotions, and selfishness to overrule the wisdom of God and the Lordship of Christ. Invariably, this leads to wandering from the Way.

“…we’re witnessing a growing number of Christians focus more on self than on the Savior.” —Jordan Wootten

We can really only love one thing in any given moment. Let’s be brutally honest. It is not possible to have both Christ and self on the throne. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other…” (Matt. 6:24). There is only one throne available in our hearts. Paul was adamant about this: “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16-18). Consequently, only one king or master can rule at a time. If self sits on the throne of my heart, I long for and lust after the things of the flesh.

You and I, as believers in Christ, must take ourselves off the throne of our hearts. How many times in this past week did you know very clearly that you were doing something God has been telling you to stop doing?  More importantly, how often did you turn from conviction of the Holy Spirit and do it anyway? There is a good chance that this “something” has become a habitual practice in your life. In his third epistle, John writes, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 John 3:4, 6, 8).

Death is life. To live life, we must first die. Kyle Idleman calls this the end of me. He writes, “The end of me is where real life happens. And Jesus says that once I die, I can truly live.”³ As Bonhoeffer said, when Christ calls someone, He bids them to come and die. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). Paul reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (see Gal. 5:24).

Abdicating the throne and submitting to Christ is more than avoiding sin; we must resist sin and resign ourselves to Christ. We must live for Him. The phrase your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven should never be taken lightly as “part of that prayer”(Matt. 6:9-15). I believe “on earth as it is in heaven” means we must strive to fulfill the will of God while on earth in the same manner that it is upheld in heaven! We are commanded to do the will of the Father during our lives here on earth. Jesus is our exemplar for fulfilling the will of God. He abdicated His throne. Although Jesus exists in the form of God, He considered being equal with God not something to be grasped (Gr. ἁρπαγμὸν, harpagmon). Rather, He emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:3-4).

To trust in Jesus, we must throw ourselves into His arms, renouncing our own will and yielding ourselves to His divine will. This necessitates a movement of our inner self toward the Way of Christ. The source of our fulfillment must move from fleshly desires and the accolades of man to fulfillment in Christ alone. After all, we have salvation in Christ alone. We can no longer be the master of our own fate, nor can we occupy the throne of our heart. Our destiny must now lay with Jesus. Of course, saying “yes” to Jesus requires saying “no” to our self. We no longer live for ourselves. Paul said, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19b-20). By design, self-worship chokes out the will of God in our lives. We must surrender ourselves in mind, body, and spirit to Him and trust Him with our life, our future, and our well-being. We must dethrone self and place Christ on the throne, to remain and rule for the rest of our earthly lives.

Steven Barto, BS Psy, ThM

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture contained herein is from the English Standard Version (ESV).

References
¹ Tim Jennings, MD, “Identity and the Worship of Self,” Come and Reason Ministries, Oct. 27, 2022, retrieved Nov. 8, 2023, https://comeandreason.com/identity-and-the-worship-of-self/
² Watchman Nee, A Balanced Christian Life (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc., 1981), 1.
³ Kyle Idleman, The End of Me (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Publishing, 2015), 103.