What is Ego?

Have you heard of the song “We are the world, written in 1985?” It was one of the greatest all-star songs ever, whose proceeds were used to help famine victims in Africa. Now, there is something about the recording of that song. The producer of the song, Quincy Jones, who had been in the business a long time, knew what stars and celebrities were like. But he also knew the importance of the project they were working on and that if they did it well, the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts. The bigger cause was greater than any one star in that studio or even than all of them put together. And so he put a note at the entrance to the recording studio that was obvious for all the stars as they came in, which read, “Drop your ego at the door.”

Apparently, the sign did its job; it was quite remarkable how that group of diverse stars could sing together to record the award-winning song “We Are the World”. Each of them understood, at least for that little moment, that there was no space for ego or pride, and all that mattered was to accomplish this task for the sake of the suffering masses. Eventually, the merchandise of the song generated about $ 50 million (about $150 million today) to meet the needs of the targeted populace.

If only family members had kept their egos outside the door, things would have been so different in society today. If only church members had kept their egos outside at the gate, there would have been a great move of God.

Ego is the Latin word for “I.” Cambridge dictionary defines it as the idea or opinion that you have of yourself. Egoism is a self-centred life, especially focusing on one level of ability, intelligence, and importance. Ego is a sense of self-importance that can lead to arrogance or pride. If ego had an email id, it would have been [email protected]

No doubt this pandemic has crept into man’s heart from the beginning of creation. From the scriptures, man was created to be in God’s image and to fulfil God’s ordained purpose. Adam and Eve lived in the garden, waking up daily to accomplish their God-given assignment until the serpent crept in one day. The Bible says in Genesis 3:4-5, “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

Here we see the devil rerouting man’s focus from pleasing God to himself. He convinced the first family that it shouldn’t always be about God or what He wants, but they can also work life out for themselves. “You will be like God.” “Your eyes will be open.” “You will know what is good and evil.” It is the devil’s primary instrument to destroy man. How often do we allow self to have the better of us? We forget how ordinary we were before God formed us out of the dust. Now we have allowed our position and power to instil an unholy significance in us. 

Your greatest enemy is not outside; your greatest enemy is within you – your ego.