Ego in Christianity

[Christian_lady]

Where does "ego" fit in the idea of Christianity and the Bible?

CL

[Scubadude]

Where does "ego" fit in the idea of Christianity and the Bible?

CL

I'm not sure. I understand ego as "a sence of self" that can either be inflated or weak. There are examples of ego in the Bible, like Sampson's huge ego, or Giden's weak ego. But, it's just a word that tries to capture an observed reality of human nature. IMHO.

[tt1106]

I don't think it fits into wearing the cloak of humility.
That being said, Pride is a problem for humans, and I try to fight my own inflated sense of importance all the time. Many times failing and giving into my fleshiness.
I try to be christlike at all times though (sometimes I fail) and consider others before myself.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
I also think of the humility of God. How he humbled himself (talk about an act of Love) to come to Earth as a man. I think of Bohnhoffer's great work "cost of discipleship" where he says (essentially) man failed at worshipping God, so God came to earth to show man how to become God-like. (more like Jesus)
Humility and conviction can still be perceived as arrogance, but we should not let that discourage us from preaching the truth.

[Progressguy]

Indeed ego can certainly be an issue with Christians, particularly as we mature. I notice a lot of us, myself included, honor our faith tremedously, but have a certain ego about us when someone challenges or questions our beliefs. This could be something from disagreeing with a point of view, such as pre-tribulational views vs post, or thinking we're "right" when discussing bible related topics in a bible study, or similar situtation.


God calls us to be humble and to put our egos and self righteousness aside. While it is difficult to do as we are born sinners, we need to make the effort to be humble:

Proverbs 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger. ( how often do we see good ole Zephaniah quoted? )
Matthew 18:4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Good verses to remember, something that I know I personally need daily.

[RabbiKnife]

I tend to agree with scubadude.

Many times in Christianity, we have been taught that the spiritual is more important than the physical, and sometimes, we wander into quasi-gnosticism.

We are spiritual persons. We have personalities. We have bodies. We have minds.

A healthy understanding of ourselves, and that includes a proper, Biblically based concept of our worth as individuals, is a proper part of a Christian world view.

Pride (whether expressed in arrogance or false humility) is the constant battle.

[NHL Fever]

I think pride is the majority or perhaps overwhelming source of most other sins. It was also the cause of Lucifer's fall. This I believe is why there are constant references and commands in the bible about rebuking oneself, to help us keep our feet on the ground. Christ says how you treat the least in society is how you have treated Christ for example - a command that if followed naturally rebukes arrogance. North American culture is extremely individualistic and oriented towards the edification of the self above all others and the generation and protection of personal possession as a virtue. This flies in the face of Christ's teaching, and is the reason IMO why there are many-times more verses about helping the poor, loving thy neighbor etc than about other ideas.

[Tonton]

Indeed ego can certainly be an issue with Christians, particularly as we mature. I notice a lot of us, myself included, honor our faith tremedously, but have a certain ego about us when someone challenges or questions our beliefs. This could be something from disagreeing with a point of view, such as pre-tribulational views vs post, or thinking we're "right" when discussing bible related topics in a bible study, or similar situtation.


God calls us to be humble and to put our egos and self righteousness aside. While it is difficult to do as we are born sinners, we need to make the effort to be humble:

Proverbs 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger. ( how often do we see good ole Zephaniah quoted? )
Matthew 18:4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Good verses to remember, something that I know I personally need daily.

I agree. our ego's can lead us to self-justification - i.e. to defend ourselves at the expense of the truth and at the expense of humbleness. Self-justification is not Godly.

Anton

[Tonton]

I think pride is the majority or perhaps overwhelming source of most other sins...

Amen! .

[tt1106]

Amen! .

Agreed. Pride is the root of all evil. You can trace it all the way back to the fall of man. Hath God said that? How prideful and arrogant that we think we know better than what the creator of the universe knows?