Why does God tell us to praise, worship, and glorify Him? Doesn’t that sound vain and conceited? Why is it wrong for us–but not God–to be proud? This is a common charge from atheists and agnostics to Christians. We read in scripture that God wants to make a name for Himself (2 Samuel 7:23; Nehemiah 9:23). He delivers his people from Egypt for the sake of His name (Psalm 106:7; Isaiah 63:12; Jeremiah 32:20; Daniel 9:15). Taken at face value, it appears that God has an unhealthy preoccupation with himself. Isn’t this the height of vanity and arrogance? Surely God can’t be humble! This charge is something Christians cannot ignore and must address.1
First, we should get out definitions right on “pride” (an inflated view of self) and “humility” (an appropriate acknowledgment and realistic self-assessment). Pride is a lie about a person’s identity or achievements. To be proud is to live in a world propped up with falsehoods about oneself, taking credit where credit isn’t due. To have humility is to have a realistic assessment of oneself. It is thinking accurately about yourself where you acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. So under this understanding of pride and humility, God can’t be called proud because he has a realistic view of himself, not a false or exaggerated one. We can’t ascribe too much greatness to God because God is by definition the greatest conceivable being! God doesn’t think more highly of himself than he ought to think. Rather he thinks accurately about himself.
Second, God’s making us in his image isn’t a mark of divine pride. To be made in God’s image and to receive his salvation are expressions of God’s kindness, not of divine arrogance. Being made in God’s image as priest-kings brings with it the ability to relate to God, to think rationally, to make moral decisions, to express creativity, and to share in God’s rule over creation.
Third, worshipping God doesn’t diminish our humanity but rather fulfills it. This would be different if we were to worship another human being…but who says anything about worshipping a human being. God is as different from us as we are to an amoeba. To worship God is to realize our very purpose (a relationship with God), and such worship reflects our place in the universe (we are creatures and God is Creator). Far from being a manifestation of pride, the knowledge and worship of God is the highest good possible. Not only that, but worship expresses an awareness of God’s proper place, and therefore, our proper place in the order of things, and it also transforms us into what we were designed to be. To be connected with God in worship not only humbles us; it’s a lofty, lifelong endeavor that expands our minds, enriches our souls, makes us wise, and enables us to have a proper self-understanding. God’s call for our worship is not because he thinks more highly of himself than he ought or because he has false beliefs about himself. God’s desire to be known by us stems from his being deeply in touch with reality.
Fourth, God’s jealousy is aroused when human beings turn creatures or false ideas into God-substitutes. Just as a woman will not share her husband with another, so God is jealous to protect the love relationship for which all human beings were designed. We often think of jealousy in negative terms: it smacks of insecurity when someone feels threatened by another; it promotes resentment; and it can create all kinds of unpredictable reactions. So when people read that God is a “jealous God” who won’t share his glory with another (Exodus 20:5), they promptly apply to God this negative view of jealousy. There’s appropriate kind of jealousy, though. Just imagine a wife who’s unconcerned when another woman flirts with her husband. If she wasn’t jealous or committed to protecting that sacred martial relationship, we would rightly see her lack of concern as warped and morally deficient. Similarly, we should think of God’s jealousy as noble and virtuous. A jealousy not springing from an inferiority complex that makes prideful, selfish demands. Rather, divine jealousy springs from a human denial that God is God, that a relationship with him isn’t really needed for ultimate human flourishing.
Fifth, the ultimate picture of divine humility is evident in the humiliating and degrading death of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross, which is simultaneously God’s greatest, most glorious achievement. The compatibility of greatness and humility is marvelously demonstrated in Jesus’ own crucifixion–a display of God’s humiliation that turns out to be his own mark of distinction and moment of glory.
Sixth, God’s humility is expressed in offering praise to human beings for their trust and obedience. Not only do we praise God, but the humble God is also willing to “praise” human beings who have trusted in his grace:
“But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”2
The other-centered God delights in praising humans who seek to please him.
More could be said, but I think what has been said is sufficient to make our point. The evidence of God’s self-revelation reveals a God very different from the one skeptics often attack. The late theologian Colin Gunton remarked that: it is as truly godlike to be humble as it is to be exalted.3 Indeed, God’s other-centered character and activity in history reveal that he is indeed humble–inescapably so.
1. I’ll be brief with my points but I strongly encourage others who want a more in depth response to read When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics by Paul Copan. I’ll be relying on this book to answer the charges I have just given.
2. Romans 2:29
3. Colin E. Gunton, The Christian Faith: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002), 181
