The Snare of Self

Often the main hindrance to our spiritual progress is ourselves.

By Karen Barrett

I just took my dictionary off the bookshelf and looked up the word self. Among other definitions, I found it means, “one’s own welfare, interest, or advantage.” Do you see any hidden danger lurking in that innocuous phrase? Any hidden agenda carefully crafted by Satan to entrap you?

Not on the surface, perhaps. But add a telescopic lens to your perspective, and take another long, hard look. William Law, noted preacher of an earlier era, explained his viewpoint with words that slice directly across the humanistic philosophies of our day. He said, “Self is the root, the branches, the tree of all evil.”

Strong words. But I think he’s right.

Let’s look back in time to the Garden of Eden. Man was created with an identity centered in God. But then self stepped on the scene. When man plunged into sin, God was cast down as the supreme center of the heart of mankind, and self usurped the throne—a usurper who has never willingly abdicated in the centuries since.

We see the outcome of that original act of self-will in our society today. Man (i.e., self) is the god of atheistic humanism. The true God is denied. The goal of humanism is succinctly stated in the words of the noted feminist leader Gloria Steinem, “By the year 2000 we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God . . .”*

Well, you may be thinking, I recognize that many have put self in an elevated position that should belong to God, but that’s not my problem. I’m a Christian. God is in control of my life.

Watch out! Satan is out to entrap every one of us in some snare of self. You see, that type of snare has been so very successful. Oh, the trap he sets for you may not be precisely the one he sets for me. But be assured of one thing—he will set a trap.

Let’s look at a few of the clever entanglements he has perfected over centuries of use.

The snare of self-pity

Our clever adversary slips this one into the path of the unappreciated office worker, the sickbed sufferer, the tired housewife struggling to get through a personal energy crisis, the unemployed, and the bereaved. In fact, he has probably tried it in some form on all of us. Quietly, ever so slyly, he urges us to look inward instead of upward. “Poor you,” he whispers. “You’ll never make it. And no one understands.” Ever hear those oh-so-destructive words? Don’t allow Satan to trap you into giving in to feelings of being unloved, misunderstood, or isolated. Remember, if you’re a child of God, He aligns every circumstance that comes your way into a pattern of good for you. The patriarch Job suffered incredible loss, yet he could say, “He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). So when Satan attempts to slip those silken strands of self-pity around you, shake them off with a vengeance!

The snare of self-assertion

We must be alert to a tendency to want to win every argument, drive home every point, and have the last word in any confrontation. Our ideas may be great, our reasoning faultless, and our logic unimpeachable. But if we constantly assert ourselves, drawing attention to our thoughts, plans, and ideas, Satan may have us entangled in this one. We hear a lot these days about healthy self-esteem, but how easily that can drift into a preoccupation with self! Paul wrote the Philippians, “. . . in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). His words weren’t just for century-one saints. They’re still good advice.

The snare of self-reliance

In our achievement-oriented society, phrases like “blazing your own trail” and “marching to your own beat” have a fine-sounding, independent ring to them. But we must guard against relying on our own accomplishments, our wisely-made investments, or our well-laid plans. Satan relishes any opportunity to pat us on the back and tell us that we’re eminently capable of handling life on our own. “Do it your way,” may be his advice, but it’s not what God’s Word tells us. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” we read in Proverbs 3:5,6. These are important words if we want to stay out of this snare.

The snare of self-indulgence

Hand-in-hand with self-reliance comes the subtle enticement to self-gratification. How the enemy loves to see us pamper ourselves! How he encourages a systematic indulgence of whims, desires, and preferences! Because when this snare settles down around us, forgotten are Christ’s words, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The Apostle Paul emphasized the need to keep our natural appetites and desires under control, urging us to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Instead of following his advice, are we being trapped into conforming to the world by our attempts to gratify personal desires? It’s so easy to get absorbed in pleasures and possessions, and lose the perspective of millions of souls dying without Christ. And that’s just what Satan wants.

The snare of self-righteousness

The danger signals here may not be obvious. Perhaps we have a tendency to drop a few words to make sure others know of our good deeds. Or we may look at those around us and secretly think we’re doing a lot better in our Christian walk than they are. Maybe we are meticulously faithful in the outward evidences of our religious devotion, and just a little smug about it. Satan could well be working to entrap us in the snare that entangled the church of the Laodiceans. God condemned their self-righteous state with the stern words, “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). The snare of self-righteousness blinds our eyes, eclipses our love for others, and arouses the despicable demon of pride in our hearts. Watch out for it!

The snare of self-interest

Satan places this trap directly in the mainstream of our daily lives. We may stumble into it in an agonizingly slow checkout line, a traffic jam on the way to work, or in a conversation with an employee who just can’t follow instructions. Are we impatient with the mistakes of others? Quick to become annoyed when things don’t fall into place for us? Irritated with those who stand in our way? Our adversary loves to have us become stressed out and resentful when our imagined rights are violated in some way. Or perhaps the snare of self-interest slips into place almost unnoticed as we become increasingly wrapped up in personal deadlines, demands, and duties. Satan exults when he sees us become so focused on our own concerns that we are indifferent to the needs of others. He cheers when we never bother to look beyond our door to the needs of our neighborhood, our community, our world. Paul wrote, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:4). If we concentrate on following his advice, we’ll sidestep this snare of Satan.

Look back over this list one more time. Then do some additional inventorying along the lines of self-satisfaction, self-deception, self-love, self-justification . . . yes, the list could go on and on. Has Satan caught you in one of these snares? If you recognize that a loop or two of self has wrapped itself around your life, don’t give up. There are some steps you can take to break free.

It will require honesty. You have to realize that you’ve fallen into the snare.

It will require humility. You need to confess your condition before God, and ask His forgiveness and help.

It will require heartfelt determination. You’ll have to purpose to be alert and on guard against subsequent attempts of the adversary.

But with God’s help, you and I can do it.

Karen Barrett is Office Manager at the Apostolic Faith Church International Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

*Saturday Review of Literature, March 1973