The father of every narcissist is, of course, Satan. He provides a perfect model of narcissistic behavior, starting with his fall from the sky. Just a preliminary look at his words and behavior sounds like the DSM definition of narcissism.
Readers have often protested my written analysis of narcissistic personality disorder. Their objection comes from the idea that narcissistic personality disorder is a psychological term and therefore biblically incorrect. Depression is another clinical term often applied to Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. It is a universal experience that affects most, if not all, humans at one time or another.
So my response to the objection is that there is nothing new under the sun, according to the Lamentations website. All human mental and moral illnesses arrived at the fall and have remained with us until now. The scientific name does not invalidate a set of characteristics that are addressed in the Bible. It may seem like a stretch to compare the horticultural group of narcissists to Satan, but even Jesus referred to the self-righteous and arrogant Pharisees as children of hell. He made the connection long before I did.
Characteristics of an authentic narcissist:
1: He worships himself.
Isaiah 14:14 records that Satan said, “I will make myself like the Most High.” Just as Satan had delusions of grandeur, imagining that he could be like God, so typical narcissists see themselves as gods in their little spheres. They are looking for helpers to worship at their altar.
I remember finally understanding the nature of idolatry in my first marriage. She thought an idol was something she loved. And it often is. Timothy describes those we should avoid as “lovers of themselves.” But the other side of the pagan coin is fear. The narcissist desires to be loved and feared at the same time. By fearing my ex more than God, I helped elevate him to the status of God in our home. When I removed him from my heart, his abusive behavior escalated.
It never occurred to my ex, nor did it occur to Satan, that they did not deserve absolute control. The incredible entitlement it takes takes my breath away. Satan even tries to bribe Jesus into worshiping him. Such pride should direct us to Satan’s narcissistic tendency.
2: The original narcissist is the one who invented gaslighting.
What is Eve’s story other than the dark beginning of women being thrust into the spotlight because of their sense of worth? Satan first made her question what she knew. “Did he say don’t eat from the tree?” Satan asks. Then, after sowing doubt in what she previously knew without a doubt, he questions God’s motives.
Satan slyly suggests: “God does not want you to be like Him.” Suddenly doubt entered the garden. Just as gaslighting seeks to separate the victim first from herself, then from others, so the evil one makes Eve question first herself, then her heavenly Father. Remember, this is how it has always worked. Step 1: Make the victim question their reality. Step 2: Makes the victim suspect others of evil intentions, cutting them off from their true source of support.
My ex-husband often said that my parents don’t love me. They much preferred my brother. Well, he gave his girl her best chance to think, anyway. Fortunately, their love for me was never in doubt. But this leads to the next characteristic.
3: The original narcissist is accused.
Another name for Satan is the accuser of the brothers. I think there are two sides to this coin. The first is that the narcissistic mindset is incapable of true self-awareness. This means that they project onto others what they are guilty of. They suspect others of lying, stealing, and murder because that is what they have in mind. As John 10:10 says, “Satan comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” The most common example is that narcissists are often unfaithful, they live in fear of being cheated on. There is nothing Satan can accuse us of that he did not do himself first.
The other side is being a perpetual victim. I often joke that the daffodil’s cry is, “I’ve been cheated on!” Satan truly believes that God has robbed him of his rightful place. Therefore, narcissists, unable to see their own mistakes, see the reasonable consequences of their actions as the fault of others.
4: The original narcissist is a devourer.
1 Peter 5:8 makes this clear. “Your enemy, Satan, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We call victims of narcissistic abuse a symptom. This always gives me chills. If you see lions eating their prey, know that it is bloody and violent. The narcissist seeks to take all the good that his victims have and consume it for themselves.
It is a myth that narcissists are looking for easy prey. They are looking for partners who are beautiful, intelligent, and emotionally warm. It feeds their pride as much as it feeds their desire to destroy those traits. The best way to distract them is to hide those good qualities. If they don’t see something interesting, they move on. Satan is always looking for someone to exploit until there is nothing left of the original person.
5: Finally, Satan is a torturer.
I think this doesn’t get talked about as much as it should in posts about narcissism. Narcissistic abuse is comprehensive, a comprehensive attack on the victim’s character. It is an exercise in desensitization. Insults, sleep deprivation, pinching, and small daily indignities are the fate of victims of abuse. Not to mention the gaslighting, sexual assault, financial abuse, and general cruelty of the abuser.
We know that Satan loves to torture people. You see it all the time in the Bible. Poor Job is an example of Satan’s abuse, as is Paul with his thorn in the flesh. Hell is also described as eternal torment, although I often thought that living with narcissistic abuse gave me a taste for that.
There are other signs of Satan’s narcissistic tendency that I do not mention here. Grandiosity, the desire to tempt good people to do bad things, and intimidation are some other things I can make a case for in the Bible. But the main reason for this article is to show that narcissism is not just a personality trait. Yes, it happens through various means, such as parental problems, and even genetics. However, those narcissistic parts of ourselves are the parts capable of great evil. Furthermore, narcissists have the advantage of evil, in part because they inherited it from the person they truly follow, the Father of Lies.
