“Is God an Egomaniac,” asks John Piper? (part 1)
I just heard John Piper speak here in Atlanta. It’s was such good stuff that it’s worth me attempting to regurgitate his main point(s) with a little of my own commentary. He addressed a question that I have personally wrestled with for a long time, “Is God an Egomaniac?” Seriously, think about it…What kind of gall does it take to demand that we love God/Jesus more than parents, spouse, kids, etc? God wants constant worship, all the glory to himself. How could a perfect God with perfect character need constant praise? This sounds like a codependent whiner. Piper noted that this question long hindered C.S. Lewis from embracing the Christian faith…and today hinders plenty of people.
Piper exposed false God-centeredness. We embrace God-centeredness as long as God uses our God-centeredness to make us a somebody. Are we are truly happy with the fact that God is all about getting glory for himself? Are we motivated to bring glory to God even if God were to not make us celebrated among our fellow humans?
Piper explained that God is passionate about God’s glory – in the beginning, in the middle, and to the end. Mysteriously, when God glorifies himself and we join in, we are full of joy. Our joy cannot be separated from God’s glory. The foundation of our salvation is God bringing glory to himself through unspeakable sacrifice. We were forgiven for His Name’s sake – God’s glory. Instead of egomania it’s divine altruism. So, we have a reason to be giddy about God passionately glorifying himself.
It’s is not about us…that’s the beauty. We are able to rest in the power of a God who glorifies himself. We are part something much much bigger. Anytime we truly catch a glimpse of God, God’s greatness, bigness, grace, and indescribable beauty…we see God’s glory and it is only natural for us to worship God. In doing so, we experience joy, real joy. In those moments we (almost) grasp the mystery of our total acceptance. We come full circle - we start out blind, blurred at best wrestling to make our life work (for God), then we catch a glance of this graceful God. Even this glimpse melts our heart bringing us to worship. God is glorified and we are full of joy.
I experienced this very thing just before Piper spoke. The David Crowder band played. They were spot on and literally thousands of people were singing in unison. I was really moved sensing God’s bigness, love, and unbelievable grace. It was so natural to worship God. I wanted to worship God more than anything (and not stop to hear John Piper). No doubt, a deep sense of joy filled my soul.