IT’S YOU

Friedrich Nietzsche famously said:

“If you think someone has ruined your life, you’re right; it’s you.”

Ironically, Nietzsche was right — and in a very real sense, he is his own case study. His life is the tragic embodiment of what happens when man tries to live without the God who made him.

Suppressing the Truth (Romans 1:18–20)

Nietzsche was born in 1844 in Röcken, Germany, to a Lutheran pastor’s family. From a young age, he was exposed to the truth of Scripture. But instead of receiving the gift, he chose to begin the process the apostle Paul describes in Romans 1:18 — suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.

Gifted with a brilliant mind, Nietzsche pursued philosophy, literature, and philology with unmatched intensity. Yet this intellectual power was not submitted to God; it was devoted to dismantling Him… and it backfired.

Refusing to Honor God (Romans 1:21)

Nietzsche’s most famous declaration, “God is dead,” wasn’t a boast of victory but a diagnosis: Western civilization, he said, had killed the idea of God, and now humanity must face the consequences.

Rather than turning back to the living God, Nietzsche called for the creation of new values and a new “Übermensch” (superman) to rise above morality shaped by Scripture.

This was his active rebellion against the truth of Romans 1:21–22:

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him… Claiming to be wise, they became fools.”

Given Over (Romans 1:24–32)

As Nietzsche rejected God, his writings became increasingly dark, proud, and self-exalting. He saw himself as a kind of prophet for a post-Christian age — yet he was prophet of a false gospel and an empty throne.

The “will to power” became his gospel, and self-creation his salvation. But there’s a terrible truth: when one enthrones self, they bear the crushing weight of being their own hateful and oppressive god.

In his mid-40s, Nietzsche’s health collapsed. Physically weakened, mentally unstable, and socially isolated, he spent the last decade of his life in mental darkness — a tragic picture of the mind given over to futility (Ephesians 4:17–18).

The Tragic Irony

Nietzsche’s quote about ruining one’s own life is profoundly biblical — not because he intended it that way, but because it echoes God’s truth, i.e., the law of sowing and reaping in Galatians 6:7–8:

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

He not only sowed pride, rebellion, and self-worship — and reaped corruption but approved of others doing the same (Rom 1:32). His life is a living illustration of Proverbs 14:12:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

The Warning and the Hope

Nietzsche’s story is not just a historical footnote. It’s a warning. Brilliant minds, deep thinkers, and even moral philosophers are typically the trailblazers on the downward spiral of Romans 1. Rejecting the God of Scripture — the Creator, Redeemer, and Judge — is not a neutral decision. It is the root of ruin.

But the hope remains for anyone still breathing:

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

Where Nietzsche embraced self as savior, the gospel calls us to deny self and follow Christ (Luke 9:23). Where Nietzsche exalted the will to power, Jesus offers the will to serve. And where Nietzsche’s “God is dead” declared the end of meaning, the empty tomb of Christ declares the death… of death and the glorious dawn of eternal life in God the Son!

If you think someone has ruined your life, you’re right; it’s you. Someone else saw immeasurable value in redeeming it. His name is Jesus, and while we were still sinners… He died for us. What we all ruined in our sin, He has made glorious and beautiful through the shedding of His blood at the cross.

He doesn’t ask anyone to “earn” it; He only desires for us to receive the gift He paid for with His life… that’s how much you are worth to Jesus.

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley

☝🏽🧔🏽‍♀️👑

Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com