Narcissism and the Bible

You will not find the terms "narcissism" or "narcissist" in the Bible, but I did find four verses that speak about self-seeking and a pathological selfishness. These are key characteristics of the narcissist. What I found interesting is how this emphasis on self in these verses is always paired with evil and/or rejecting the truth. (I've tried to highlight those pairings in the passages.) You can not serve and worship self AND serve and worship God, they are mutually exclusive. I believe we see narcissism in action in the famous story of wise Solomon, the two women, and the disputed baby.

Narcissism and the Bible Passage #1: Romans 2:5-8
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Narcissism and the Bible Passage #2: 2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Narcissism and the Bible Passage #3: James 3:14-16
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Narcissism and the Bible Passage #4: 1 Corinthians 13:4-6
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Another key aspect of narcissism is the narcissist's blatant lack of empathy. They are without mercy or compassion for anyone else. Oh, they are often known as people of "strong feelings" (their narcissistic rages and temper tantrums come to mind), but those feelings are always reserved for themselves.

Narcissism and the Bible Passage #5: See 1 Kings 3:16-27
The story of Solomon threatening to cut a living baby in two in order to discover who is the true mother might easily be the first character test for narcissism ever recorded. Though the Bible does not specifically state that the woman who says "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" (verse 26) is a narcissist, I believe we can safely say from what we see of her blatantly selfish and uncaring behavior, that she was one. Not only does she not demonstrate any grief over the loss of her true son, she callously steals another woman's baby and calls it her own, and then just as callously is willing to kill the child if she can't get what she wants. She feels absolutely no compassion for her "friend" or for the baby. In order to feel empathy, you have to be capable of considering someone else's wants or needs above your own; the narcissist always put his own wants and needs before anyone else's.

Because their lack of empathy can cause you considerable harm, if you believe you have a malignant narcissist in your life (one whose narcissism has progressed to the point that it is causing repeated and predictable relational harm to those around him) I would respectively suggest you consider the following:

Narcissism and the Bible Passage #6: Proverbs 22:3
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

Blessings!

Source
Compton's Interactive Bible NIV Software