The sin of conceit is an unavoidable product of the fallen nature, a fact no less true within the house of God. Even for the most mature saints, walking with Christ for decades can seem to yield little success in the perennial battle against conceit. For some, successful ministries and growing giftedness can actually grow conceitedness, rather than kill it. But the Scriptures are clear: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3 ESV). So, what are Christians to do? Though only the consummation of God’s Kingdom will bring the total and lasting eradication of sin, even now a thoughtful and prayerful Christian can embark on a lifetime of steady growth in the holiness of humility. Unto this goal, Christian Hedonism is the most effective weapon in the battle against conceit because it undermines the very premise upon which conceit is built and displaces the desire by which conceit is motivated.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines conceit as “excessive appreciation of one’s own worth or virtue.”[1] In the New Testament, this concept is commonly portrayed with a physical metaphor as being ‘puffed-up’ or ‘swollen’ with conceit. One of the Greek words often translated as conceit is kενοδοξία, a compound of the words for empty and glory—translated literally in the King James Version as vainglory. In other words, conceit is a vain and over-exaggerated self-evaluation and self-glorification that is without substance or merit. It is an ego that is puffed up or swollen beyond its natural, healthy state. It is a glorying in oneself that, though appearing grand and impressive on the outside, is hollow and empty on the inside. Conceit is a form of glory, but it is an empty glory.
Looking under the hood of conceit, one finds a somewhat unsurprising premise upon which it is built. The premise which underlies this vainglory is that a certain feeling of satisfaction is experienced whenever one’s own glory is acknowledged. This premise follows through to the desire which motivates conceit—namely, the desire to gain the satisfaction which results from the approval of oneself and others. At first glance, one might think that conceit is fundamentally motivated simply by a desire for one’s own glory. But, more specifically, it is really the sense of satisfaction which is achieved by the self-glorification—that is the truly desired end. The conceited person does not seek their own glory as an end in itself, but rather as a means for their self-satisfaction in that glory. This interesting feature of conceit is made plain by considering the two common variations of conceit which play out in the human heart. The conceited person’s attempt to boost their own ego may look one of two ways. First, conceit may take the form of seeking the approval and praise of others as the basis of one’s self-worth. This is simple enough. However, the second form of conceit is quite different on the surface, while remaining the same sin at its core. This second form rejects all outside opinion and judgment, choosing to elevate instead the approval and praise of oneself, often by making prideful comparisons of the self to others and using these as the basis of one’s self-worth. Though different in form, both are examples of conceit: vain self-evaluation employed, not just to achieve glory for oneself, but more fundamentally for the self-satisfying feeling which results from one’s own glory being acknowledged (whether by self or others).
Of course, when considering how a Christian might achieve enduring success in the battle against the sin of conceit, one might offer the simple answer, “Be humble,” referring to Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” But for any who realize that the fight to live out Philippians 2:3 is much easier said than done, the relationship of concepts provided by Christian Hedonism offers some much-needed help. The explosive firepower needed to fight against the cunning enemy of conceit can be nothing less than the greatest of all delights which accompanies the glory of God in Christ.
Christian Hedonism is mainly a matter of counting of costs. It simultaneously evaluates all life choices under the banner of “What will bring me the greatest delight?” and recognizes the worldview-shattering reality that the greatest of all delights is found in God. But what exactly does this mean, ‘found in God’? In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis sees the answer in relation to glory and conceit:
When I began to look into this matter [of glory] I was shocked to find such different Christians as Milton, Johnson, and Thomas Aquinas taking heavenly glory quite frankly in the sense of fame or good report. But not fame conferred by our fellow creatures – fame with God, approval or (I might say) “appreciation” by God. And then, when I had thought it over, I saw that this view was scriptural; nothing can eliminate from the parable the divine accolade, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” …I suddenly remembered that no one can enter heaven except as a child; and nothing is so obvious in a child – not in a conceited child, but in a good child – as its great and undisguised pleasure in being praised.[2]
Similarly, John the Apostle’s indictment of the Pharisees, that “they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43), shows that whenever the sin of conceit is present, it is then that “we are far too easily pleased” and “our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.”[3]
Unlike the momentary pleasure shilled out by conceit via the praise of man (whether from the self, from others, or both), the greatest of all delights in this universe is rooted in the booming finality of the only verdict that truly matters: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). The greatest of all delights is the joy of knowing that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1), and therefore “rejoic[ing] in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2). The all-satisfying glory received via the approval of God is a great treasure and reward far beyond what the empty-glory of conceit can offer. It is the prize of all prizes, for which the Apostle Paul ran his race (1 Cor. 9:24), the gain for which he counted all else as loss (Phil. 3:8) and for which he pressed on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). Ever looking unto this greatest of all delights, Paul cherished the hope of the final verdict of God’s pleasure in him: “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Tim. 4:8). In a word, the greatest delight possible to man is the approval of God, received most finally and ultimately at the final judgment yet available to God’s beloved children even now through the imputed righteousness of Christ. Lewis continues:
In the end that Face which is the delight or the terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us either with one expression or with the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised… The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God… to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness… to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son – it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.[4]
If the above claims are correct, then the solution to battling conceit is Christian Hedonism. The sin of conceit is uprooted every time a heart displaces the desire for the ultimately unfulfilling satisfaction of self-approval with the ultimately fulfilling satisfaction of the approval of God.
The Scriptures clearly designate the one rightful object we ought to boast, rejoice, and glory in: “But far be it from me to boast [lit. to take pride in] except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). The man Jesus Christ, by the merits of his creation as well as his cross, is the only human in all of history who is worthy of everlasting praise and glory. By the merits of his cross, the gospel of his glory is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4-6), and by the merits of his creation, “he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3).
But something even more stunning was spoken by Jesus on the night this Radiant Glory was betrayed. During his high-priestly prayer, Jesus said to his Father, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:22). What a wonderful and paradoxical truth! By rejecting the sinful desire for conceited self-glorification and instead glorifying Christ, we then find a glory inexpressible being conferred back onto us, a weight of glory far more radiant and satisfying than any other. By way of glorifying God in Christ, we become “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:17). This fellowship of glory with God through Christ, as Lewis puts it, “means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last,” and therefore, “to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honour beyond all our merits and also the healing of that old ache.”[5] Therefore, glorifying Christ results in our very own glorification with him. And our own glorification by God is the greatest of all delights as we hear, both here and hereafter, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Against such an accolade, conceit can stand no chance.
Nate Cordano
Seminarian
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that we each would fight conceit and strive for holiness until we hear “Well done.”
- Pray for the prospective students still considering Bethlehem.
- Pray for the students currently on missions and study trips.
- Pray that the Lord would bring in the funds still needed to support the Serious Joy Scholarships for 2024–2025
[1] The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s Everyday Language Reference Set (Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, 2004).
[2] C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 1st HarperCollins ed., [rev.]. (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), 36–37.
[3] Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 26.
[4] Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 38–39.
[5] Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 41–42.