Did satan have an ego?

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My guess is yes due to his pride…and if so, is he the one behind our own ego?

Any thoughts?
 
He most certainly has an ego that was his undoing. However, we are each given our own egos, for the sake of our freedom. Gods takes that risk, if you will. The devil is not the source of our egos, he only appeals to them. What the devil lacks is humility. Humility is our primary weapon against the devil. Into a humble heart the Holy Spirit pours out graces that strengthen us against temptation. As well the Holy Spirit drives the devil out and condemns him.
 
He has an ego and isn’t afraid to appeal to ours. Rememer the temptation of Christ after he was baptized by John the Baptist? The devil tempted him in three ways. Once which was power. Power and hunger. I’m not sure how the third part feel into it, but I’m sure it fit in there as well. The first one was physical hunger (I think this might apply to more than just hunger for food), then power over the earth. Satan knows he is in control here. He was offering it back to Jesus as a lure. I doubt that Satan will be willing to hand it over peacefully. This was really due to his own pride. What Satan was saying, “Do you see all of this? It’s mine, and I’ll do with it whatever I want.”
 
Not only does Satan have an ego,he is almost pure ego. So much so that he doesnt even act in his best interests. Satan has an enormous intellect,so he always knew that his rebellion would fail. Even I know that I cannot win against God!
It is important to know the difference between ego and self. You are your self. Your ego is an image of the self. For example, someone that takes no joy in a sport but only about a stupid metal trophy. One that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Ironically, God is within (Luke 17:21). By concentrating on the ego, one is identifying with something vastly inferior to one’s self.
 
Thank you all for you insight…

Couldn’t we sum up the ego in ourselves as not understanding vs. understanding. For instance, let’s take a learned man who has X amount of degrees who boasts about it at a party one night. He’s says," I have this, this, this, and this degree and I am an extremely intelligent highly educated person" to the people whom he’s talking with…

However, later in his life, he looks back and reflects and says to himself, “Wow, I sounded like a real boob back then…I truly do not know everything and what difference does it make how many degrees I have…”

So in the beginning, he does not understand that his own credentials do not merit his whole worth as a person, but later reflects and knows that God truly knows everything and that in humbling himself he honors God and himself more deeply…

Also, couldn’t that be devil whispering in his ear to talk about how educated you are to other people to somehow “prove” how much your worth?

Is the ego basically God’s way of separating our knowledge from Him in order to give us free will? I think po18guy wrote something along those lines which makes sense to me…We can never truly be free of our ego unless we humble ourselves …
 
As I see it, the ego is one aspect of our freedom. Without an ego, we would do nothing but serve the Lord in all humility. For the sake of our freedom, so that our love of God is chosen freely, He gave us egos and the ability to reject Him. Humility is opposed the ego, as it suppresses the ego and leads us to humble ourselves so as to love and serve the Lord, which is the proper ordering of our life. In the final chapter of the book of Job (42:1-6), he arrives at true humility:

“I know that thou canst do all things,
and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.’
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees thee;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”

The Holy Spirit fills and leads a humble heart - but only by invitation - while the devil and his minions present constant temptation to us. In either case, doing good or doing evil requires our cooperation with that leading in our lives. Since evil surrounds us, we must ask the Holy Spirit constantly to dwell in us so that, with His graces, we may resist the evil that beckons to our egos. Those graces flow via the Sacraments.
 
po18guy said:
As I see it, the ego is one aspect of our freedom. Without an ego, we would do nothing but serve the Lord in all humility. For the sake of our freedom, so that our love of God is chosen freely, He gave us egos and the ability to reject Him. Humility is opposed the ego, as it suppresses the ego and leads us to humble ourselves so as to love and serve the Lord, which is the proper ordering of our life. In the final chapter of the book of Job (42:1-6), he arrives at true humility:

“I know that thou canst do all things,
and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.’
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees thee;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”

The Holy Spirit fills and leads a humble heart - but only by invitation - while the devil and his minions present constant temptation to us. In either case, doing good or doing evil requires our cooperation with that leading in our lives. Since evil surrounds us, we must ask the Holy Spirit constantly to dwell in us so that, with His graces, we may resist the evil that beckons to our egos. Those graces flow via the Sacraments.
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Thank you for your insight…very helpful !
Kevin
 
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