In the ancient Greek world, people would often come to the Temple of Apollo to be prophesied to by the famous Oracle of Delphi. Much of what people heard led them to rebel and flee against their foretold fate. Yet they never could quite escape their fate. Whatever was foretold eventually came true. The secret to them fulfilling their fate was hidden in plain sight. On the doorpost above the entryway into the temple was carved the Greek words Gnothi Seauton, Know Thyself.
Why does this matter to Christians living in the 21st century? Greeks were pagans that followed false Gods. We have the full truth in the Bible. The reason it is pertinent is because all of humanity bears the image of God. That means all peoples and cultures reflect God’s image, his character, and his wisdom. The Greeks prided themselves on wisdom to a fault. However, the true wisdom they did articulate is as real for the Christian as it is for the Pagan. In this topic specifically, the Bible has something relevant to say.
What the Bible Says
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Cor. 13:12
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.” James 1:23
1 Corinthians 13:12
The greatest geniuses in the world know more than many of us could ever hope to. And yet, the only know a fraction of the everything that can be known in the universe. Even with all the capacity geniuses have for knowledge and learning, were they to apply that skill, dedication, and ability to knowing themselves: physical component makeup, the way the mind interprets information, the way the human emotions occur, and how it is all interconnected, they would still find that they could only learn a fraction of what it is to be a person. Anything we can turn our minds towards understanding will, in the end, be a dim reflection of something with far more detail. The Greek word for “dimly/darkly” in the Corinthian passage is enigmati, the basis for our word enigma. Paul is saying, when we apply our ability to learn and know to anything, even ourselves, at best we can hope to make sense of an enigma.
At first look, it seems odd that Paul would put this phrase about enigmatic knowledge at the end of what we call the “Love” chapter. But Paul didn’t write things haphazardly. In the context, he says that the value of everything rises and falls on the basis of Love. If love is present, it is valuable. If love is absent, even the greatest miracles, wonders, and prophecies are absolutely worthless. If all value is based on love, then there must be an economy in which love can be given and received. The only economy where that is possible is in the context of relationship. A loving relationship is compose of people dedicated to bringing out the best in the other person. The truest love is the most selfless. So the enigma Paul mentions is directly related to our ability to relate to others. Relationships are hard. We don’t understand people as well as we think. Additionally, keeping good relationships demands a degree of self-knowledge as well, something else we tend to think we know more of than we do. So we engage in relationships without the fullest of understandings about other people, with the hope that, as with all things, in Jesus’ work, we can know and be known more fully in relationships. Does it make sense that the Phrase on Apollo’s temple makes sense. We relate to others better when we know ourselves better.
James 1:23
James tells us that all our Bible knowledge is useless if we don’t act on it. If we read the word and do nothing, it is like forgetting what we look like after just looking into a mirror. The discipline of self-reflection has be be applied to our own lives, or else we won’t be able to relate to others well. The inability to relate to others well is a sure sign that we are deficient in love, the most valuable commodity there is. Loving well is absolutely related to relating well. Relating well is absolutely related to growing in our ability to relate. That means self-improvement. People don’t care what we know unless they know that we care.
Self-improvement is a non-negotiable if we want the glory of God reflected in our relationships. Self-improvement is contingent upon knowing oneself, Gnothi Seauton. If we want to stand on the last day and hear “Well done good and faithful servant,” the scale is going to be weighed by how we related to people in a lovingly holy way that fosters life and goodwill. We will be weighed by how we love.
3 Guides to Christ-Centered Self-Reflection
Find Mentors
We need older, wiser, more mature people to help guide us and call us out on our own self-aggrandizement. “Getting too big for our britches,” as we often said when I was younger. We’re not great! We’re not all that! We’re not more special than other people! The key to advancement in the kingdom of heaven is selfless love. We learn that best by seeing it in action. Good mentors provide a safe atmosphere where we can see selfless love modeled by a real person in a first-hand way. They give us space to practice and grow in it and can coach us when we do it wrong. They give us chances to fail as we grow, as long as we grow.
Make a Profile of What Your Ideal Life Would Look Like with Relationships (To God and Others)
Take a good, hard look at what a godly family is like (seeing the mentor’s model is a good example). Start writing out the traits, characteristics, and relational interactions that you notice in terms of positive, godly expressions. In the process of developing such a profile, making inquiries to your mentor(s) can help fill out the nuances of the profile. What is the mentor’s philosophy/belief about how he is supposed to relate to others? What drives him to do and say things that you’ve noticed?
Your profile should always be changing and evolving as you grow and interact with your mentors. As you grow and mature, what you notice will evolve. That should be noted as well.
Explore What You Are Doing to Hinder That
If you find relationships in your life are not as life-giving, fruitful, and healthy, then a reflection on those dynamics are in order. Once again, your mentors can provide insightful feedback. Don’t expect this to happen overnight, or even in six months. The trek to self-awareness is a life-long process. There is no point of arrival until we reach heaven’s doors. As we read scripture, it will show us what good and bad relationships look like. Even the legal stuff in Exodus and Deuteronomy and the Wisdom in Proverbs are largely relational. There are healthy people in the world that can help us grow in relational health. There are toxic people that can harm our relational health. There are many in-between.
At the end of the day, Knowing Thyself (good, bad, ugly, faults, assumptions, etc.) is a key to good relationships. Good relationships are key to better understanding who God is. Christians have a direct relationship with God that is always evolving and changing, because as people, we are growing and changing. Our priorities, desires, needs, and joys change. Our relationship with God grows and changes to meet them as well as to maintain a connection to us. Relationships with people inform the ways we approach God. Healthy human relationships help us relate to God in life-giving, helpful ways. Unhealthy human relationships can hinder the way we relate to God.
A healthy Christian community, godly mentors, and a discipline for self-realization and improvement are key ingredients to propel us into a thriving, faithful, eternal relationship with God. The reason being is that Love is the currency of Heaven. It is the currency God values. He values it because Love is the currency of relationship. Without relationship, there is no love. Where there is no love, God won’t be there. In the end, the place where there is no love and no God is a place devoid of deep meaningful relationships. That is a place we call Hell.