04.02.31 - Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 31

Chapter XXXI. He Who Principally Loves Himself, Actually Sets Up Himself In God’s Stead.

O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces.— Daniel 9:7.—Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.— Psalms 115:1. As God is the beginning and end of all things, so the first and chief love of man is due to him. And whosoever transfers it to any other object, really and truly makes that his god; which is the greatest affront that can be offered to his divine Majesty. For as it is the nature of love to unite the lover with the thing beloved, so the fixing of our love upon any creature separates and alienates us from the Creator. Whosoever principally loves himself, certainly loves everything else solely for his own sake; which he ought to love purely for the sake of God; and so all his love is founded in and upon himself, which ought to be fixed entirely upon God.

2. Hence he is employed in doing his own will instead of God’s; he usurps God’s right; attempts to invade his kingdom; sets up an authority in opposition to God’s kingdom; and actually rebels against his Maker and his God.