I’m not sure whether you have realized it or not, but for the past month, I have been taking a dive into the way that we think (our understanding and wisdom). There are some of us who do not think much of ourselves, but I preached that we are more than what we think we are. Some often choose to lean on their own understanding when they can choose to lean on the Lord’s understanding. I ended last Sunday’s sermon by saying, “you are not God”.

Last Sunday, I tackled the hypocrisy of self-righteousness. The self-righteousness of many has led the believer that should move in humility to move as a dictator. There are many Christians who have developed a god complex and we must focus on this in today’s sermon.

The God Complex

What do I mean by “God complex”, someone might ask. To explain what I mean by God complex, I will share an example of myself as a child. When I was little, I loved baseball (and still love the sport). I knew everything there was to know about baseball. My love of the game felt even more special to me because my dad was a great ballplayer in his day. He and his brothers would share stories of just how awesome he was on the field and with a bat in his hands. Even more, my dad had a try out with the Atlanta Braves (my favorite and hometown team). What did this mean for me?

Well, I developed a superiority complex when it came to the game of baseball. When I would play with other kids, there was no doubt in my mind who was the best and who knew more about the game. When something would happen on the field and there was a question about it, there was no question in my mind that I was right. I’d say to the other kids, “I’ll just ask my dad, he’ll know and prove I’m right.” (Never helped that I was practically right all the time). So, I ended up developing a baseball-god complex that some would probably say I still have to this day!

How it happened

A god complex is typically defined as someone who cannot admit their error (wrong) because they are always right in their eyes – they are wise in their eyes. So, how did some of us develop this god complex? Let’s consider the matter by looking at what we do compared to what others do not do.

The believer goes to church – the nonbeliever does not go to church. We, the believer, have read the bible and the nonbeliever has not. Not only that, but the believer has been baptized so we, the believer, are saved and the nonbeliever is not. Therefore we, the believer, are special and they, the nonbeliever, are not special. Because of these things, the believer now knows what is best and they, the nonbeliever does not. The believer knows what is right and the nonbeliever does not. (Note: I said the believer has “read” the bible and did not use the word studied.)

What does the believer then do with all of this? Does the believer share the wisdom that he or she has gotten from attending worship services, bible studies, and other classes? Does the believer share the beautiful message of love that comes from the Lord’s gospel?

Imposing the god complex on others

We know that we should do share the gospel. In the context of scripture (Psalm 82) that I will use in today’s sermon, we see that this was a practice before Christ.

³ Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
⁴ Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 82:3-4 NKJV

Anybody who has read scripture, and say that they are a believer, knows that this is the way of the Lord. Why do we not practice His way?

The believer, who should be a humble teacher, now wants to be in control. They want to make the laws and force everybody to be just like them. This is the god complex that seems to reside inside of many people who proclaim to be believers in today’s the world. The problem with this action is that there is only one God and only one Judge that can judge. I promise you, that one Judge does not look like you nor me!

You are not God!

We have to really understand who and what we are and what exactly that means. I want to look at some scripture today to further explain my statement that we, the believer, are not God. My key verse for today’s sermon is:

“You are gods,” is the same thing that Jesus said to the Jews when they moved to stone Him for blasphemy (John 10:34). I actually mentioned this in a sermon I preached during Easter season. What did Jesus mean by this and what does it mean here?

We must notice that the “g” in gods is a lower case g. Typically, in the Christian faith, we show great importance and significance to recognizing the true God by capitalizing the “g” in God. This psalm makes it clear that we are the children of the Most High (God). We become a child of God through faith. In essence, we become the Lord’s offspring; so, we should be like God. This is why we say that we strive to be Christ-like because we want to be like our Lord.

However, there are many who go overboard when it comes to being like God. Instead of striving to be like God, they want to be God. There are many people who attempt to raise themselves to the level of God but they are not God.

Still only human

“But you shall die like men,” this psalm continues. This psalm clearly states to us that you are still just a man (or woman). Therefore, like any and everybody else, you will die. The difference between the death of the righteous and the wicked is that the righteous do not die in sin. Why? Because Christ has saved us and forgiven us of sin.

That being said, ultimately God is still the judge and He will judge the nations and He does not need help doing that! It is the Lord who will ultimately judge – not His children! This, I believe, is what bothers many people who claim to be believers. They love to hold to their religion because their religion has granted (they feel) some sort of authority and power over others.

In their religion, they have the power and decides who can come in and who cannot – they are the judge. Again, there are many who sing about being a soldier fighting for the Lord but God has not asked anybody to fight for Him. Does the Lord need our help? Not only that but if you call yourself a believer, why not trust the judgment of the Lord? It seems many people today, by their actions, don’t trust the Lord to judge sin accordingly so they feel they must do it.

The judges of this world will one day answer to the Judge – they will have to get off their thrones in that day!

Faith in His judgment

If these believers truly had faith in the Lord’s judgment, then they would allow the Lord to have His judgment! This is a truth that we must face. Time and time again, you will hear believers speak on what is sin, and then a certain believer will even condemn the sin without showing there is a way to forgiveness. Of course, that is not what we as genuine believers ought to be doing.

We must understand our role as servants of the Lord! As a servant of the Lord, our role is to show that there is a way to overcome sin! The servants are the ones in the highways sharing that invite to the great wedding with Jesus Christ (Matt. 22:1-14). As I preached earlier this year, some will accept the invitation and others may not – that is their choice to make! We must stop playing god and trying to impose our ways on others. We must understand that the Lord has a relationship with all of His creation – not just 1 individual.

If you have a god complex, today I tell you to drop it – lose it! We must have some humility about ourselves if we are going to truly be a child of the Most High.