I
had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine of mine who is brought up
in the catholic tradition but questions the facts of the tradition. She asked
me, “Is not our God so selfish?” She gave me three reasons to support her view
that God is selfish. Firstly, in the Old Testament, there are many instances,
especially the first three of the Ten Commandments. God wants everyone to adore
Himself and makes it a command. Secondly, in the New Testament, we see that
loving God is projected as the greatest commandment. Thirdly, the greatest
commandment has been made to be the meaning of human living. This is well
expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Why did God create you? To
love Him and serve Him.
All
these instances impose that loving God is a mandatory act of life. Thus it is seen
that our God is a selfish God who created beings just because He wanted to be
loved and served. It seems to be a valid logical argument. It is expressed in
the Bible explicitly. Our catechism message is often reminded though the
liturgy. So God wants to be in the first place of our love list.
However,
a simple fact is forgotten here. It is true that God wants to be in the prime
place in our hearts. But if not who can replace God? In other words, what’s
wrong if God wants us to have loving and serving Him as our meaning of living?
God is the supreme good that a human can attain. He is the Summum Bonnum or Parama Puruṣārtha
as it called in the Indian philosophical tradition. God wants everyone to
obtain this supreme goodness who is none other than Himself. Hence nothing can
be equalized with loving God for God is Love.
Moreover,
God expects us to love Him but never enforces us to do so. The greatness of God
is that He allows even the atheists and agnostics to express their view in the
world. This is the supreme form of goodness we are talking about here. Thus
love of God is not a selfish desire but a desire for the good of the human
beings.