Do you have an ego problem?

At age 16, Bobby Fischer took the game he loved and begin to systematically beat the world’s best, one by one. Years later, he added insult to injury of already fragile egos worldwide by taking down the world champion, Spassky.

Bobby Fischer commented on his talent by stating, "I like the moment when I break a man's ego."

The problem with Bobby Fischer though was that he himself had a large ego, along with other issues to boot.

Bobby Fischer had built himself up so much that his Ego created a salivating desire within him to make sure that other men's egos were broken.

As I read into the life of Bobby Fischer, I begin to think about people in society who have ego problems. I begin to think about how they have built up a mirrored wall so high around themselves that in the end, they cannot see the outside world for what it truly is. All they could see was self. If they did stop long enough to see others, it was merely to brag about oneself or to make sure the other person was still 'beneath them.' The egotistical does not care about others; they only care about making sure that they better themselves.

The word Ego in the Latin is simply the pronoun "I." When one has an Ego, it is all about "I." To clarify though, Ego is also more of a 'self-image' of what one believes they are. That person becomes so engulfed in self that their selective view of self overrules any real opinion of who they are. The person becomes blinded by their ego. They begin to shut out anything that does not fit into their mold of their selective self-image. Their selective self-image becomes them yet a selective self-image is not them at all!

Being blinded my Ego is not healthy. Ego is a removal of the real you and the blurring of the identity that God has given you. When a person begins to move away from their God given identity to create a new self, when they are drawn away from what is right to what they conceive to be right, and then they begin to allow Ego to tempt them. That temptation brings them to be enticed by self. Once Ego has brought them this far, sin is not too far behind. Plato said it best by stating "The cause of all sins in every case lies in the person's excessive love of self." Eventually, that excessive love of self brings forth death. Death of the man who once was identified by God but now identified by "I." Death of what could have been. Death of a persona that could of rocked the World with the message of Christ but chose self. Being blinded by Ego is not healthy and in fact, just downright deadly.

In the Old Testament we see that Lucifer had an 'I' problem.

"I will ascend until Heaven"

"I will exalt my throne above the stars of God"

"I will sit on the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north"

" I will ascend above the heights of the clouds"

"I will make myself like the Most High"

His Ego, his 'I', his self image, caused him to be cast down to Sheol, the uttermost parts of the pit.

The problem with Lucifer is the same problem that people have on this earth. He became a lover of himself. His Ego puffed up. He became blinded by his actions. He did not take heed and in the end, he fell.

We need to be reminded today that ultimately, there is only one 'I'. That I is the " Great I Am!" God told Moses "I Am that I am." Jesus speaks to the Jews and tells them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM."

If anyone in the history of the universe or this world had the right to use the word ‘I’, it was God Himself. After all, he created the Heavens and the earth. He hung the stars in the sky, placed water upon this earth and told it where to start and stop. He was the one that scooped up dirt and made life. AND Jesus was the one that hung upon a cross and died for a mankind that strayed away from their God given identity.

GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WORTHY OF HAVING AN EGO!

Not you, not me, not Bobby Fischer, not anyone! God alone is worthy of saying I AM THAT I AM, point blank, period!

Ego caused man to be banned from the garden, Ego caused this earth to be flooded and Ego is probably causing you to read this right now and telling yourself, “I don’t have an Ego problem.”
Today, let scripture be a reminder of whom and what we should be.

“Better it is to be humble in spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. “ “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Ask of the Lord today to help you remove any mask of selective self image. Pray that your focus be all about HIM and no longer about you. Request that your pride be replaced by humility. Climb out of that mirrored well which you can only see yourself in and come to the realization that there is a whole world out there than you can benefit from and they can benefit from you. Pray today that it no longer be about your will, but God's will.