Know Thyself
Psalm 139
This past week, I paid a visit to the Augsburg Fortress, a Christian Book and supply store in Kitchener. I needed to pick up some supplies for the fall, and as always, browse their book section. It can be dangerous, in that I could spend an awful lot of money very quickly, but at the same time it’s good to see what sorts of new resources are out there. I’ve been particularly interested as of late as to anything to use as a special resource to help nurture our Spirituality.
One book in particular caught my eye, entitled “Your Spiritual IQ: Five Steps to Spiritual Growth.” Admittedly I was a bit put off by the title, because IQ or “Intelligence Quotient” is generally regarded as one’s innate intelligence., which is not changeable by external means. If you have a Spiritual IQ, it means that some people are naturally more Spiritual than others, and there’s no way to change that… it seems to contradict the “Five Steps to Spiritual Growth” in the subtitle. However, even with that, I decided to pick it up… and fortunately I’ve found it to be about genuinely developing a means by which we can grow spiritually.
The five steps are simple:
1. Know Your Own Story
2. Pray Deeply
3. Simplify Your Desires
4. Face Your Challenges
5. Expand Your Understanding Through Learning and Service to Others
The first one is “know your own story.” –which has admittedly been a bit of a revelation to me. Before we can even get to something like prayer, we need to know who we are… or more specifically we want to know who we are personally, and the story that we tell about ourselves reflects that. The healthier the way we the story we tell about ourselves, the healthier our Spirituality can be.
Now really, this is nothing new when we think about it. This meshes really well with the ancient words of Psalm 139… which begins with the line “Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.”
I have often said that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Part of that wisdom derives from the words of the Psalm… but it also speaks to how our Spiritual lives are tied to how well we know and tell our own stories. The more honest we are with ourselves, the better place we are in to grow spiritually.
I tend not to use more archaic forms of English, but there’s something a bit more profound in saying “Know Thyself.” Knowing who you are, and the story that you tell about yourself is the important first step in being able to deepen your relationship with God.
Be honest with yourself, because God already knows who you are, and is able to look through any sort of pretence or deception that we might do. In Alcoholics Anonymous one of the most profound realizations that people make is when the addict takes the step past the self denial and acknowledges who they are by saying, “I am an addict” and then turning that acknowledgement into an opportunity for growth and healing. Spiritual growth comes when we come to terms with who we are.
It can come at any age. John Savage has said that he knows some very mature 16 year olds, and some very immature 80 year olds. Age has nothing to do with it. Sometimes people can come to terms with who they are and are very articulate and forthright about their own personal story. Others can live in denial for decades, putting on a façade, keeping up appearances that over time begin to wear at the soul. In fact, one can become so obsessed with the image they project, that they will viciously protect it and even begin to attack those who would question their image… not realizing in so doing, they reveal a part of themselves that they don’t even see.
It is often in crises, where people find all of these put-on appearances falling apart that they look in the mirror and realize they don’t recognize the person looking back. The longer one refuses to acknowledge their own story, often the greater the crash can be.
It is why being honest with ourselves, knowing our own story is so important for our well-being… because no matter what sort of appearances we might put on, God knows every intimate detail of our lives… including all of that dark stuff that we pretend isn’t there. How can we expect to have a deep, meaningful relationship with God, or each other for that matter, if we're not able to have a deep meaningful understanding of who we are?
“Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.”
But Psalm 139 carries our own personal stories even further. God knows who we are better than we know ourselves… and it becomes especially true when it comes up against all of that negative stuff that we have either been taught, or have absorbed ourselves. You know those internal feelings of self doubt, that we might say to ourselves “I’m not worth it,” “I’m not good at this, I’m not good at that.”
But Psalm 139 has something different to say… it reminds us that God has made each of us for a reason and a purpose.
“For it was you who formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
And more importantly,
“I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
I am fearfully and wonderfully made… In this context, “Fearfully” means “Awesome.” That our very existence and being is an awesome and wonderful thing. God doesn’t make any junk… and any labels that we put on ourselves that somehow denies that or downplays that is not helping us. As a teacher of Sarah’s once said, labels belong on jars, not on people.
For every one of us, we are awesomely and wonderfully made… no matter what sort of flaws we might understand ourselves to have… none of those flaws can ever knock aside the deep and abiding love that God has for us. The only thing that might is our unwillingness to really understand who we are personally.
Before we even get to methods and means of prayer, the first step in deepening our relationship with God is for us to be honest with ourselves, and to know our own story… that being honest about who we are to ourselves is that first crucial step. Why? Because God already knows who we are at the core of our being. So why do we try to keep up appearances with God when God can see through it all better than we know ourselves? We might find that once we’re honest with ourselves, we can be honest with God, and we can be much freer in our prayer life… and we might find ourselves growing in ways we never thought possible.
Amen.
This past week, I paid a visit to the Augsburg Fortress, a Christian Book and supply store in Kitchener. I needed to pick up some supplies for the fall, and as always, browse their book section. It can be dangerous, in that I could spend an awful lot of money very quickly, but at the same time it’s good to see what sorts of new resources are out there. I’ve been particularly interested as of late as to anything to use as a special resource to help nurture our Spirituality.
One book in particular caught my eye, entitled “Your Spiritual IQ: Five Steps to Spiritual Growth.” Admittedly I was a bit put off by the title, because IQ or “Intelligence Quotient” is generally regarded as one’s innate intelligence., which is not changeable by external means. If you have a Spiritual IQ, it means that some people are naturally more Spiritual than others, and there’s no way to change that… it seems to contradict the “Five Steps to Spiritual Growth” in the subtitle. However, even with that, I decided to pick it up… and fortunately I’ve found it to be about genuinely developing a means by which we can grow spiritually.
The five steps are simple:
1. Know Your Own Story
2. Pray Deeply
3. Simplify Your Desires
4. Face Your Challenges
5. Expand Your Understanding Through Learning and Service to Others
The first one is “know your own story.” –which has admittedly been a bit of a revelation to me. Before we can even get to something like prayer, we need to know who we are… or more specifically we want to know who we are personally, and the story that we tell about ourselves reflects that. The healthier the way we the story we tell about ourselves, the healthier our Spirituality can be.
Now really, this is nothing new when we think about it. This meshes really well with the ancient words of Psalm 139… which begins with the line “Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.”
I have often said that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Part of that wisdom derives from the words of the Psalm… but it also speaks to how our Spiritual lives are tied to how well we know and tell our own stories. The more honest we are with ourselves, the better place we are in to grow spiritually.
I tend not to use more archaic forms of English, but there’s something a bit more profound in saying “Know Thyself.” Knowing who you are, and the story that you tell about yourself is the important first step in being able to deepen your relationship with God.
Be honest with yourself, because God already knows who you are, and is able to look through any sort of pretence or deception that we might do. In Alcoholics Anonymous one of the most profound realizations that people make is when the addict takes the step past the self denial and acknowledges who they are by saying, “I am an addict” and then turning that acknowledgement into an opportunity for growth and healing. Spiritual growth comes when we come to terms with who we are.
It can come at any age. John Savage has said that he knows some very mature 16 year olds, and some very immature 80 year olds. Age has nothing to do with it. Sometimes people can come to terms with who they are and are very articulate and forthright about their own personal story. Others can live in denial for decades, putting on a façade, keeping up appearances that over time begin to wear at the soul. In fact, one can become so obsessed with the image they project, that they will viciously protect it and even begin to attack those who would question their image… not realizing in so doing, they reveal a part of themselves that they don’t even see.
It is often in crises, where people find all of these put-on appearances falling apart that they look in the mirror and realize they don’t recognize the person looking back. The longer one refuses to acknowledge their own story, often the greater the crash can be.
It is why being honest with ourselves, knowing our own story is so important for our well-being… because no matter what sort of appearances we might put on, God knows every intimate detail of our lives… including all of that dark stuff that we pretend isn’t there. How can we expect to have a deep, meaningful relationship with God, or each other for that matter, if we're not able to have a deep meaningful understanding of who we are?
“Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.”
But Psalm 139 carries our own personal stories even further. God knows who we are better than we know ourselves… and it becomes especially true when it comes up against all of that negative stuff that we have either been taught, or have absorbed ourselves. You know those internal feelings of self doubt, that we might say to ourselves “I’m not worth it,” “I’m not good at this, I’m not good at that.”
But Psalm 139 has something different to say… it reminds us that God has made each of us for a reason and a purpose.
“For it was you who formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
And more importantly,
“I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
I am fearfully and wonderfully made… In this context, “Fearfully” means “Awesome.” That our very existence and being is an awesome and wonderful thing. God doesn’t make any junk… and any labels that we put on ourselves that somehow denies that or downplays that is not helping us. As a teacher of Sarah’s once said, labels belong on jars, not on people.
For every one of us, we are awesomely and wonderfully made… no matter what sort of flaws we might understand ourselves to have… none of those flaws can ever knock aside the deep and abiding love that God has for us. The only thing that might is our unwillingness to really understand who we are personally.
Before we even get to methods and means of prayer, the first step in deepening our relationship with God is for us to be honest with ourselves, and to know our own story… that being honest about who we are to ourselves is that first crucial step. Why? Because God already knows who we are at the core of our being. So why do we try to keep up appearances with God when God can see through it all better than we know ourselves? We might find that once we’re honest with ourselves, we can be honest with God, and we can be much freer in our prayer life… and we might find ourselves growing in ways we never thought possible.
Amen.
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