Know Thyself

I read an article from a favored Christian financial person I follow, Bob Lotich, from Seedtime.com. (Based on the scripture describing seed, time, harvest – Genesis 8:22.) He commented about a phrase while discussing some financial thoughts. It makes sense on so many levels that I feel it’s important for all of us to consider no matter where we are going or hoping to obtain.

Know Thyself

In my mind, I added the phrase, “To thyself be true.” Before we can be true to ourselves, we really must know ourselves.

If I’m fully aware of my habits, personalities, and distractions, it’s easy to be true to the person I want to be and not the person I don’t want to be like. Once I know myself, I can exact change that fits who I want to be. Hence, before you accept who you are, make sure you are willing to live up to the image of the person you accept.

Know Thyself. Be true to yourself. Know who you are, and then be true to the person you are.

Dangerous Stuff Here!

If you are not the person you should be, based on all the normalized identities of the day, you may never fit in, constantly make mistakes, and come out the other side with a label that will never wear off. We remember what you were like as a kid, and you wore a label. (Bully, whiner, stand-offish, teachers’ pet, etc.) We remember that label when we see you in later years, even though you are no longer the same person. You’ve grown up! You’ve matured and morphed into a new identity that others will not recognize. Even more quickly, they will paint you with a new label. (“Peter, you’ve become a pirate!” ~Hook)

In the olden days, people who didn’t fit in became intrepid explorers, mountain men of a bygone era, or solitary wanderers. They didn’t fit in anywhere. They rubbed everybody wrong and often became outcasts.

Today, easily, they become the internet pariahs sowing discord and their discontented views. Stirring the murky waters with ideas that become rooted in others until a movement is described. Discontent breeds discontent in those with similar outlooks. Before long, we need Snopes to tell us the truth, and even then, can we trust them?

The internet has changed our voice. No longer are trusted news sources presenting the voices like Walter Cronkite, who lived, it seemed, so much above the news that he reported the facts and not his fable or fictionalized version. There’s always a backstory, and often like you and I, they report what they feel and less what they know. Agendas exist everywhere!

Pandemic

I’ve stretched myself to understand many sides of a story; in fact, I often say something like this:

There are 40 sides to every story.

Your view, mine, theirs, others, and even those directly, even indirectly affected. Think about it from the view of the modern pandemic we are living through. Yes. Through. I believe we make it to the other side, one way or the other. There are many views on the source, modality, variants, do we need a vaccine, why, why not, let’s force everyone to get it, or let’s let everyone chose for themselves.

You can pout, get mad, exclaim, discard friends, shut your doors on everyone not following your path. Many do and are doing this. All the while, they change what they believe today over yesterday. (See! You just excluded yourself because you just said, “I’m not changing what I believe!” A New Side!)

We are living in multiple levels of a single pandemic. Sub-pandemics? Or varied pandemics depending on what you believe. It’s almost like we are repeating Donald Rumsfeld after 9/11 as he gave a news briefing on what we know:

Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns

He made sense to a mind that can parse out the words. Yes. Me. There are many things we don’t even know we don’t know! Hence, “our leaders” come back with new rules because they now know what they didn’t know, nor could they even understand; they could not possibly guess back then about the things they didn’t even know they couldn’t know. Back then.

Somewhere Down the Road

Among my contacts (family, friends, frenemies, and even strangers), there’s no common ground on what we think we know based on what has been presented. We interpret from varied perspectives. It’s impossible to get everyone on the same page. Conclusions become muddled because new “facts” are uncovered almost daily!

How can we possibly know ourselves?

That is the consternation of the moment. Every side sways us, wooing us with a view that may be correct, or it may not. I don’t know.

Jesus dealt with these folks all the time. (Family, Friends, Frenemies, Strangers.) Repeatedly we read that he “knew their thoughts.” (Matthew 9:41) Imagine a time when a ruler of a synagogue came to him with a need. His daughter was nearly gone. Jairus threw down all of his preconceived ideas of who Jesus was and went to him.

And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.
And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,
for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age,
and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.
(Luke 8:41-42 NKJV)

Desperation often changes our viewpoints. Let something happen to someone close, and we will clutch at the straws of possibilities, even if it makes others see us in a different light.

The Bible says something about this, and perhaps it will be too late for some.

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
(Romans 14:11-12 KJV)

The reality of an ending time will change everyone’s outlook. What will it be like when we realize we’ve been wrong and wronged others with our outlook? Leaders are concerned with this all the time. No one wants to lead anyone astray.

Here’s My Thought

Joshua said it to Israel at a particular time of life. Let me paraphrase. “You’ve come out of Egypt where your foundation was riddled with false gods. You’ve wandered the wilderness where you relearn all about God. Now, you get a choice. Serve God, or serve others.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

Now. You get a choice. Just as you make choices on living during these trying times, you also get to choose how you live a spiritual life. In either, you will pay for wrong choices somewhere down the road. Or, make the better choice and enjoy the fruits of your selection for an eternity.

There was a time Jesus needed to go to Samaria. Sychar was the place, and his disciples went into town to get some food. A woman was coming to the well at an odd time of the day. Please read all of John 4 to an understanding of their conversation. When his disciples came back and asked about the moment, the woman was returning from the city with a great number of followers to hear from Jesus, who knew her whole life. Jesus told his disciples:

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’?
Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
(John 4:35 NKJV)

Let’s read something into this event. All it takes is witnessing to one person. Much fruit comes from witnessing to a single person. There’s no selling, proselyting, or coercing. Take Jesus with you, and your testimony to him will reach an untold number of people. Don’t stand on the soapbox of scandal, end times, or fear. Preach/teach/live Christ. Keep your “self” to yourself. That is what we are all working on. Knowing ourself. But if we want to accomplish the great commission, we need to be a testimony of Christ.

That’s all we need to do. It’ll work all the time.