We as believers in Christ have a danger around us that may even be operating in us.  This danger is something that causes us to turn from God.  It may be the reason many do not grow in the faith and are risk to fall away.  This danger is a god that many believers (unknowingly) worship.  It goes undetected among us because we have made it our friend and not our foe and has been with us since we were born.   This god is called Self.

Some of the ways Self worship may manifest is through pride, conceit and manipulation.  Moreover, it may masquerade itself as being caring and giving yet its motive is to gain acceptance, love and appreciation from others.

The god of Self is able to obliterate a believer’s faith through offenses. Once we take the bait of being offended, we will find ourselves on a road of much sorrow and pain as we begin indulging in the (satanic) crumbs fed to us that will tell us all the reasons why we have been treated unjustly and how we deserve better.

A tell tale of Self worship is we are motivated by selfish ambition;

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.Phil 2:3-4

When we worship Self our world becomes small and dark and and may become fearful and suspicious.  We invariably trust our feelings and emotions and make them be our guide.

Jesus reminds and warns us that out of our hearts come evil:

“What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man” Mark 7:20-23

Jeremiah warns that our heart is deceitful, and only God knows it:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the^]mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings. Jer 17:9-10

We see how vulnerable we are when we allow our hearts to lead us, and why we must examine our motives and study the Word to understand better what His will is for us and what offends Him. When we live out of our own heart, we will be prone to think we are right in our own eyes which prevents us from seeing what is true.  It is ONLY by His Word, that we must rely so we may distinguish what is of our soul and what is of the His Spirit.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; Heb 4:12. 

When we worship Self we are bound by the law, see post Legalism. We will reap all that we sow into our flesh which is always corruption; Gal 6:6-8.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.1 Cor 15:50

For any believer to involve themselves in Self worship, they will be entangled with many troubles, and go through much pain.  Ironically the turmoil and suffering is often mistaken and attributed to being persecuted or attacked by the devil because of our faith, deepening the deception.

When we come to the truth and repent of Self worship, we will discover what freedom is and not want to look back!  Because our eyes are no longer upon ourselves and are upon our Lord we are able to see a much bigger and better view in that God’s ways are so much better than our way could ever be!