I often get asked if God can heal a narcissist. My answer is sometimes hard for people to accept. When I say that narcissists don’t change, I mean it. The pushback I often get is that all things are possible with God, even a narcissist being healed. So in this post, I want to qualify my answer about whether narcissists change and what God can or will do about it. But before we talk about anyone being healed, I first have to define a few things. Narcissistic behavior differs from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. We all have had times where we blame others for that which we ourselves are responsible for. We all struggle with pride and getting our own way. And mental illnesses such as addiction and depression have a way of emphasizing that narcissism. Our miseries clog our perception of reality with endless pictures of ourselves. Everyone has been overly self-absorbed. Some consider Paul to be narcissistic before his Damascus conversion. I doubt it because he was so zealous for God, yet so misguided. I am sure he had narcissistic tendencies like all of us, but I don’t think he had a personality disorder. Surely, he lacked empathy, but unlike Nebuchadnezzar, many other signs seem unknowable in his case. But Narcissistic Personality Disorder is another matter altogether. Here is a brief list of common symptoms: Low levels of empathy High levels of insecurity An inflated sense of self-importance A sense of entitlement A tendency to exaggerate Arrogance and boastfulness Prone to belittling others An expectation of special treatment, followed by an angry reaction if it’s not received According to the vast majority of psychologists, a narcissistic personality disorder is not curable but treatable. The fundamental problem in treating it is that those with narcissistic personality disorder are unwilling to acknowledge any perceived weakness. And, thus, rarely seek treatment on their own. Read here for more. I have read journal after scientific journal, and the recurrent theme is that no one has successfully documented a person with true NPD being cured. I have looked high and low. No one has successfully cured a psychopath, either. So if you find evidence, please send it my way. Except there is one documented case of a narcissist being healed. Now he didn’t seek treatment, but he underwent a divine intervention. Nebuchadnezzar certainly checked all the boxes above. He is the one who, outraged by Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego’s refusal to bend the knee to the golden monstrosity of a god he made,  sent them into the fiery furnace. Lack of empathy, check. The murderous rage is pretty problematic. Might push him into a whole other section of the Cluster B list. As for arrogance, this is what he said after God warned him he was going to humble the king: Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? Daniel 4:30 Certainly, one can sense the enormous grandiosity of his statement. To build a kingdom to honor one’s own majesty is to tempt God. Nebuchadnezzar became convinced of his invincibility. Narcissism barely covers it. But God. The two words that can change everything. God forces the wayward king to change by giving him the treatment he needs to become a real person again. Nebuchadnezzar has to live outside with the beasts, eating grass, and God takes from him for seven years. Think about it this way. God healed a narcissist by making him live in the lowliest conditions for seven years. If that is what it took for the Babylonian king to see reason, then we need to ask ourselves whether it is likely that the narcissists in our lives will be healed given the treatments available through modern methods. God’s intervention worked, of course. Nebuchadnezzar, after his time is up, says, 34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,     and his kingdom from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;     and he does according to his will in the army of heaven,     and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand,     or ask him, “What are you doing?” 36 At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase. Daniel 5:34-37 God seems to force the king’s hand in this. I don’t know how often this happens. One issue with this story is that God overcomes the free will of Nebuchadnezzar. He rarely does that, I have noticed. Perhaps that is why so few narcissists change. They will not use their free will to enter the intense humbling that being healed would require. Though perhaps that is not the complete story. God removes just enough of the king’s capacity to function and gives him enough time to surrender his will, which is perhaps more accurate. At any rate, a lesson is here. If it takes God seven years of all-encompassing treatment to bring a narcissist to his knees, should we wonder if the narcissists in our lives do not change merely at our request? I admit that I had a bit of a laugh at God suddenly reducing all the narcissists into cow-like creatures. But as one psychologist put it, narcissists have no tolerance for shame. If one confronts the enormous well of shame underneath the grandiosity, the result is often suicide. Ironically, narcissists are the weakest among us. But that God healed a narcissist as flagrant as a Babylonian king is hopeful as much as it is a warning. In the words of Nebuchadnezzar, those that walk in pride, He is able to abase. I know the day is coming when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confesses His lordship. I imagine that will be harder for some than for others.   https://poemachronicles.com/hell/  As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. What is Fawning and How to Stop