In my previous post, I concluded that because of God's nature as an infinite being, He must be superior to anything finite, and equal to anything else infinite. However, God is the only infinite being--the Most High, as Scripture describes Him; thus, there is no one His equal or superior. Thus, we (as finite beings) can only come to God as an inferior being; since God is the highest, no one can try to approach Him on equal ground. Additionally, consider: God is the Creator of both the earth and the people and animals who populate it. So not only does God have the position of being the only infinite being, but He also has the authority that is His right as Landlord of earth. Thus, God is supremely important in creation, since there cannot be any creation equal to or higher than Him.
Because of this, one cannot judge God, His actions, or His motives. Why? To judge someone, you are placing yourself in a position above that person, giving you authority to affirm or condemn the motives of their actions and the actions themselves. However, if God is the Most High, you cannot be in a position above God, preventing anyone from attempting to judge Him; one cannot be greater than the Infinite Being.
It is ridiculous to believe an infinite being should have an inappropriately high or finite sense of importance; the very nature of “infinite” being it is not finite or limited. Thus, it is somewhat silly to assume an infinite being can have an opinion of himself that “crosses the limit”. So God cannot have a false sense of superiority; He has every right to feel superior to anything and everything else that exists, because nothing else can equal or surpass Him. Really, God’s supremacy almost seems to conflict with His humility; if anything, God’s humility comes from a false sense of inferiority—or does it?
Because of this, one cannot judge God, His actions, or His motives. Why? To judge someone, you are placing yourself in a position above that person, giving you authority to affirm or condemn the motives of their actions and the actions themselves. However, if God is the Most High, you cannot be in a position above God, preventing anyone from attempting to judge Him; one cannot be greater than the Infinite Being.
It is ridiculous to believe an infinite being should have an inappropriately high or finite sense of importance; the very nature of “infinite” being it is not finite or limited. Thus, it is somewhat silly to assume an infinite being can have an opinion of himself that “crosses the limit”. So God cannot have a false sense of superiority; He has every right to feel superior to anything and everything else that exists, because nothing else can equal or surpass Him. Really, God’s supremacy almost seems to conflict with His humility; if anything, God’s humility comes from a false sense of inferiority—or does it?
You have made some compelling and intriguing points. However, considering God's infinate personality and our finate understanding, I would like to approach the flip side of this thought. God is UN-selfish (or selfless).
ReplyDeleteUsing your quote from part 1: "'selfish' is (1) 'holding one’s self-interest as the standard for decision making', and (2) 'having regard for oneself above others’ well-being.'"
I would argue that sending one's son to die for someone else is selfless. Now one could approach this from the idea that God is merely saving people so that these people could praise and worship Him. I, personally, believe that we are happiest when we are worshipping God. Therefore, the idea would be that God sent His Son to die for humanity so that we could live in a perfect place where we could be perfectly and endlessly happy.
Continueing in that vein, 1 Corinthians 6:4-5 NIV tells us that "Love is...not self-seeking". Also, John 15:13 NLT states that "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends" and 1 John 4:8 KJV plainly says that "God is love". So, using that wonderful tool known as "algebra", we can deduce that if Love=Selfless and God=Love, then God=Selfless.
I love your discussions. Keep up the hunger for God!