A mantra for humanism has been to “believe in yourself”. Trust yourself. Live for yourself. After all, this is the American way…and the way of all humanists.
It sounds really good until we truly examine “ourselves”. The Bible tells us “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). “…when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21) “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6).
It’s hard to put much hope or trust in a person such as this. We humans generally are weak and subject to every mood or temptation that hits us. Most people realize they need something more and bigger than themselves to believe in. We can believe in and follow other people, but eventually, everyone will let us down one way or another.
In the natural, we have a depraved mind. Darkness fills our soul even though we see glimpses of God and His glory. As children, we can be angels one minute and little devils the next. Kids can be so cute and inquisitive, but in the next second show total selfishness and aggressiveness to assert their own way. As we grow into adulthood, I would suggest we naturally lean towards the selfish and aggressive ego for the rest of our lives.
Selfishness and self-awareness are part of our sinful nature. Adam and Eve didn’t know they were naked until they ate of the tree of life and knowledge. Before they decided to disobey God’s one prohibition, they had no sin or ego to be ashamed of. When they thought to be equal to or disobedient to the God who walked with them in the garden…that is when they became susceptible to Satan and his powers of deception.
The constant battle has become our will versus God’s will. The creator had a plan which included free will. He also knew from the beginning which decisions would be made and already had a plan to reveal Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from ourselves and our disobedient human natures. He even came to earth in the form of man to show us how to live a perfect life both in the flesh and in spirit while restoring us into the right relationship with our creator.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come”. We become new as we realize that God doesn’t see or judge us for “ourselves”, but sees us as clean creatures through the shed blood of Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins. While many under-represent this as a “free gift” of grace…which it is…the new life that follows is anything but “self-driven”. To successfully live a righteous and sanctified life in this world, we must submit ourselves to the righteous God.
The scriptures are full of instruction regarding the “self”.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
This scripture above would suggest that when we become Christians, we begin a process of sacrificing our mind, body, and soul to the will of God. We sacrifice “self” in order to attain the supernatural. This is not a bad exchange.
Even Jesus, as a man facing and knowing he was about to be crucified, struggled with the temptation of saving himself from death, which being part of the Triune God He could have chosen. As he prayed the night before “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)…he was making a conscious effort of submitting himself to the will of his Father. God did not spare his own son, and his son was obedient even unto death. How many of us would pass that test of obedience and sacrifice?
When it comes to self, most all of us are full of…ourselves. Our preferences, rights, desires, and gratification runs most of us every hour of every day. It is a slow, arduous process of giving up ourselves for the love of Christ. It is hard in the flesh to prefer others over ourselves. It is hard to listen and easier to speak. It is much easier to spend an hour eating and laughing than to spend it fasting and crying before our Lord in repentance or in anguish for the lost. It is easier for us to justify our desires than sacrificing them for others. Yet, I would suggest that once we learn to submit to the hard thing…we finally start learning the joys of submission. We start learning that love is sacrifice. We start learning what “blessing” really is. Love conquers all and is all that is truly important.
The only way we should “believe in ourselves” is when we recognize the power of the true God we have submitted to who lives in us and through us. When our self is a reflection of the loving and righteous Christ who lives in us, we will start living the true promise and power of the Christian life.
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. (Galations 2:20)