"God complex"
"Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord :
"In your great pride you claim, `I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.'But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god. (Ezekiel 28:2 NLT)
One of my favorite movies growing up was the Lion King. Don't do the math, I was in high school when it came out. In 1994 I was 14. What's wrong with that?
It had a great story & memorable characters. It had catchy songs like "Hakuna Matata" & "I Just Can't Wait to be King."
Like Simba, I think there is a time in our lives when we want to be king. We want to call the shots. We want to be in charge. We want to run our own lives. It's not that God does a bad job at it but we think we would be more fulfilled if we ran things from now on. Every human being at one point or another has this attitude.
The Prince of Tyre had his in Ezekiel 28. He sees himself as a god. He wants to call the shots. He wants everyone to answer to him while he answers to no one.
This "God complex" that we all have is fundamental to the fall. Adam & Eve essentially wanted to be God. They wanted to be king. They wanted to make the decisions for their lives. They wanted control. And this is what ultimately led to their downfall. And consequently, it's what leads to ours.
Because of this attitude we all possess, we all have sinned & fallen short of God's glory. That's why at the center of the gospel is surrender. It's a handing over of the reins. It's a repentance of wanting to be God. It's a abandonment to Jesus as Lord. He calls the shots. He runs our lives. It's what we were created to live in. There can only be one God & we are not him.
In what ways do we see this "God complex come out in our lives? What areas do we tend to want to call the shots? Where do we need to surrender to Jesus anew & afresh today?
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