Know Thy Self

Sometime ago my husband posted on social media that the best thing one could ever do is know oneself. He got a bit of a rebuke from well-meaning saints for it but I, of course, defended him as his wife. I had no idea where his heart was when he said that but I knew it meant something to me. To a lot of people knowing yourself is considered self-centred because of the vain world we are living in.  I do not blame them for thinking that because so many of us are so preoccupied with ourselves that we fail to see our dying world. People are so into self-gratification; I am thankful that in the midst of all that I managed to see this in a different light. What his post meant to me was that knowing who you are is more than just knowing your composition but your capabilities in line with your purpose and calling.

As I was reading the book of Mark - Chapter 4 to be exact - Jesus had just gone through the toughest time of his life to date. From scripture we know our Saviour enjoyed His food, some religious people even called Him a glutton (Luke7:34). He had just finished fasting for 40 days so you can imagine how He must have been feeling. Just then the enemy took the opportunity to tempt Him. The enemy does that to all of us, he will come at our lowest moments to offer us what seems to be the easy way out. It takes knowing who you are to be able to resist the allure; it takes knowing your purpose to choose life.

Satan’s first test questioned Jesus’ very identity. The enemy  questioned His sonship - “if you’re truly the Son of God...”. Satan will bring to us self-doubt - “are you really?”,  "are you really God’s daughter?", "are you really saved?", "are you really the head and not the tail?", "are you really beautiful?", "are you really worthy?", "can you really do that?".  When we don’t know who we are anyone can tell us anything about us and we will easily believe it. When we don’t know whose we are we lack a sense of belonging and we can become selfish and seek to gratify our temporary needs. Because Jesus knew who He was and whose He was, He was able to resist the temptation to gratify Himself by turning stones into bread. He was not impulsive; He knew He couldn’t satisfy His hunger with just anything.  He knew that what He needed could not be fixed by bread alone. When you know yourself you don’t consume everything that comes your way; you know what you need to consume to be a better you. You know that another glass of wine will not satisfy your real hunger; another boyfriend will not truly hit the spot. You choose what you listen to and watch more purposefully, knowing that there is something bigger and more that you need and you refuse to settle for just anything.

His second test was purpose. What the enemy wants more than anything is to keep you from what God wants you to do - your purpose. Our purpose in life is to worship God. We worship Him through our time, treasure and talents. Where we apply those three things determines where our hearts are (Matthew 6:21). The enemy offered Jesus all power, fame and riches that the world had to offer in exchange for compromise. Jesus had to merely bow and worship and all the power, money and fame in the world would be His. How many of us have been asked to compromise for any of the above;  give a little bribe and you’ll get that tender (money), sex sells records  (fame), betray someone and you’ll get that position (power)? There are many ways we have been given the opportunity to bow for the three. When we don’t know our purpose we can easily fall for anything. It’s easy to compromise when you don’t have a firm grip on what you’re doing. It’s easy to want what someone else has when you don’t know what you should have. Envy, covetousness and jealousy can easily rule those who don’t know their portion in life.  When we don’t know what our purpose is we so easily surrender to every wave that pushes us along. We can invest out time, treasure and talent anywhere because we don’t know what we’re supposed to do with it; we don’t know what and who we’re supposed to pursue so we pursue anything and anyone who is available. It could be a career, a relationship, status, whatever it is; our pursuit of it is our worship and the reward of fame, power or fortune is what satan offers us in return. This brings only destruction instead of joy because you’re not in your purpose. Jesus knew what His purpose was - to worship God and Him alone, so he never compromised.

The third one was security and value.  “ If you’re the Son of God throw yourself down, the angels will catch you”.  What is your value?  Satan wants us to question God’s love for us and His promises to us. When we go through hard times it’s easy to wonder - am I really loved, do these people or God appreciate what I do, if so then why am I broke right now, why am I alone, how come I'm sick? Satan wanted Jesus to question God’s integrity and Jesus' value to God. Would He catch Him if He fell, did He really love Him? Jesus had to be so secure in His value to God that He didn’t need to test it. Are you secure in fact that you are loved, cared for and in your provision?  Jesus knew who He was to God, He was secure in God’s love and that helped Him even when He was on the cross feeling rejected by God for the first time. He stayed steadfast in the knowledge that His father loved Him and His promises are true; that He would be back and healed in three days; that He would be seated with His father soon. When we know our value we are willing to wait for the right prize, we don’t sell ourselves short. We will wait for the right husband to come, we will stay faithful in our current positions until the right opportunity at the right time comes. We will know to wait for our provision because it is on its way. We will know that how people treat us is not a reflection of us but of them. We would be more gracious towards ourselves when we make mistakes because we know we are capable of better.

In light of the message, who are You? Do you know who you are, whose you are, why you are and what your value is? Once you know that life on this earth will be much better for you.  When you know who you are you will not settle; when you know why you are you will not compromise and when you know your value you will find security. A lot of us have gone through the questioning, some got the answer others didn’t.  One thing I can promise is if you want to know about anything the best place to go is to the manufacturer. If you’re still searching I can only show you to your Maker. He knows who you are, why He made you and what you’re worth. God knows. If you want to know ask Him. If you’re still struggling to communicate to the Manufacturer directly, consult the manual - His Holy Bible. As you spend time in His word, you’ll be able to hear His still small voice and He will guide you in the small decisions you make. Then you will know thyself.