"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was."
James 1:23-24 NASB1995
Some of the great ancient Greek philosophers seem to focus on the core value "Know thyself". It is first attributed to Socrates (although it is believed to be reappropriated from Egyptian philosophy), and then Plato who was a disciple of Socrates, and then Aristotle after him. Aristotle is credited with the proverb "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." Aristotle was smart, even wise in many respects, but he was wrong in that case.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10) For proof that Solomon was right, and that Aristotle was wrong, look no further than the modern-day headlines where some men don't know if they are men and some women don't know if they are women and many people are struggling to figure out if there are only two genders or not.🤦♂️ Know God and fear God first, and then you will be best equipped to know thyself.
James 1:23-24 further illustrates this truth. The illustration of looking in a mirror and then walking away and forgetting what you look like is akin to forgetting yourself. Not knowing thyself. The text goes on further to relate this concept to keeping ourselves unstained by the world in living our pure and undefiled religion - true Christianity.
We need to take the time to examine ourselves. Not just to know our standing before the Lord (although that's eternally important and consequential), but to know our strengths and our weaknesses, to know our victories and failings and how we can learn from them both, to know our character, to know our goals, hopes, dreams, desires, lusts, motivators, and our triggers. You think of every single one of those just listed and ask yourself, "How can I possibly claim to truly know myself without knowing these things, and how can I possibly hope to have self-control without that knowledge either?"
It's often much easier to know others and much more difficult to know thyself. This was one of Jesus' warnings in that great sermon on the Mount! "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly..."(Matthew 7:3-5) And don't walk away and forget what you saw! It really sounds to me like Jesus wants us to know ourselves, by examining ourselves, and also holding ourselves accountable.
If we are serious about the self-control of the gospel then we will be serious not just about learning the gospel but ourselves as well. We will be serious about learning what entices us. We will be serious about learning what draws us away from God. We will be serious about learning the triggers that lead us toward sin and death. For you cannot truly rule thyself if you do not truly know thyself, and you cannot truly know thyself if you do not truly know thy God.
Know Thy God. Know Thy self. Rule Thy Self. - This is the way to self-control. This is wisdom. The higher wisdom. God's wisdom.
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