Others avoid those with dark triadic personalities, but on the spiritual side, those people avoid God. They are satisfied with themselves to the extent that they never knock at Jesus' door. Salvation is never obtained because they put their other god before God. Yes, those with dark triadic personality have their own god, and it is them!
For others, they believe in Jesus, and even partially trust him. However, the spiritual problem is that they love themselves so much that they never change their nature. Being born-again is a new start. The old person is sacrificed to Jesus, and a new person emerges... if the experience has efficacy. Many CINO (Christians In Name Only) believe in God, but are too self-interested to experience the new creation. After being born-again, each Christian is to be like Jesus. Sure, they will never actually be as pure as Jesus, but they are to be as much as possible.
People don't have to sin. Satan never makes you sin, so quit giving him the credit. He offers the temptation, and the sinner makes a conscious judgment call - to sin or not to sin. People sin for gratification. Of course, it is when the sin is most gratifying for the person! After neglecting conviction and its resultant guilt, people continue to sin without aforethought because it is their nature to sin - they become acclimated to sin. Those who continue in the life if sin are more about the self than the one true God. They confess Jesus, but continue to worship their own little god - the self.
All of us do that with a degree because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. When one lives for the self, there is a big problem: apostasy - sinners abandon God to appease themselves. They reach the pinnacle where their god comes before God again. When the extreme comes, and no attempt is made to crucify themselves, that's called reprobate. Those people accept damnation and reject salvation. The pull of self-satisfaction exceeds the hope of salvation.
The dark personality traits are three, thus triad. In spiritual terms they are damning, thus unholy triad:
- psychopathy
- Narcissism
- Machiavellianism
Psychopaths are those people without empathy. They seek the thrill of self-satisfaction, and even when it's wrong, they feel no guilt for their wrong-doing. Psychopathy has degrees in that people care little about the condition of others, and as they satisfy themselves more and more, they care about others less and less. One is not born a psychopath. Those who appease them mold them into one. I discussed psychopathy and reprobation thoroughly in my commentary: SPIRITUALLY PSYCHOPATHIC.
Narcissism is when one finds themselves pleasing. They are those who gratify by self-indulgence. It may be the beauty they see in the mirror, as did Narcissus of Greek literature who fell in love with his own reflection from the pool. Those who have self-love admire themselves, and diminish the beauty of others. That is not only physical beauty, but spiritual beauty as well. It's those who believe they should go to heaven because it's me God! It's those who think, I deserve this, whatever this is! It is those whose god is truly their own selves. The extreme is when not only do they have another god before God, but act as if they are God!
Before the fall of mankind with original sin, Adam and Eve focused on God alone. With temptation, their focus was on them. At that moment they did what Narcissus did, but as they looked on the tree of knowledge of good and evil what they saw was themselves as gods. In their own eyes they became the god before God. It was then that love of self replaced the love they had for God. Since, to a degree, we all have that problem, and God knows it: He said to love others as we do ourselves and that no man hates his own flesh. If one doesn't love others, it is his own self that he loves to the extreme. Their god becomes Narcissus - their Adam and their Eve, their own selves.
I see this everyday. Even good Christians (sic) in their own eyes, think: What is in it for me? I even believe that such silliness as being pumped up spiritually is Narcissistic. We are to be pumped up for Christ, but that's by deflating the image of the self! These spiritual (sic) self-help groups, in my opinion, are seminars for aggrandizing the self. The way to spiritual joy is in the quiet of one's own prayer closet, as they say. There all alone, one tests the value of the self versus what God says, and submits meekly - no pumping up required, for the promise is that the meek shall inherit the earth.
The new creature is changed not by others building up the self, but the reflection from the spiritual mirror using God's Light. That's all it takes to dim that image from Narcissus' pool. The face of God overwhelms the desires of the flesh.
Are you a Narcissist? Look in the mirror. Is life all about you? Are holidays all about you? Is even Christmastime a time for you to get things? If so, then change - give to Jesus. A good gift is the forgoing of gifts. A good gift is fasting and prayer. Other good gifts are hymns, reading scripture and praising. Those are the aromas which God loves! Quit living life as if it's all about you! God will appreciate that sacrifice, and those around you will appreciate it because they tire of life being all about you.
When I look in the spiritual mirror, I hate what I see. Unfortunately, that is still love of myself, but hate that I'm so weak that I fail God. My view of that is that I appraise myself fairly, and seek change. Look at your own reflection - you just may not like what you see either!
Machiavellianism comes from the diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli whose M.O. was cunning and deception. He manipulated others to get what he wanted for himself. Of course that trait is based on self-interests too as most psychological and spiritual problems are. In marriage, Machiavellianism is destructive because one party or other works by manipulation. Outside of marriage, relationships are ruined there too, because manipulation is dishonesty, and is also to place one's own self on a pedestal. In politics this trait prevails. Politicians propose outlandish ideas hoping to compromise, and get what they were after in the first place.
In relationships, the thought is: if you love me, you will give this to me, or you will do this for me. When people have that trait, their god is Narcissus, and they are Machiavellian in their approach. Their method is black-mail because love is not contingent on getting things our people doing things your way. Couples succeed when they replace their will with what God wills. The methods of Machiavellians are tricky. The most notable Machiavellian was the serpent who spoke the words of Satan. Those who manipulate for self-gain commit the worst type of sin. Indeed, although one may get what they want at this moment, it is only a matter of time until others avoid this type of person.
All the dark personality triad traits alienate others around the dark personality. What's worse is that they alienate God too! He sees that you adore your other god in his place, and is jealous about that. His jealousy leads to divine justice. Those of the dark triad are part of the unholy trinity, and may never allow their own creature to be changed! Many Christians have the dark personality traits because they never actually made the living sacrifice of themselves.
What is the person to do? CHANGE! That's the Christian's reasonable service to God, and he expects that, so that those with a dark personality triad come to worship him and use his methods, not continue on the wide path to destruction. I'm being harsh: Even many Christians have these traits. As harsh as I am, God's justice will be more harsh!
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