Know Thyself - A Study on Falling - Amy Lawrence

A Study on Falling - and Getting Back Up

Humans. As a whole, we really are stupid. It’s common for us to only think as the individual when we shouldn’t and only think as a group when we shouldn”t. This is how we destroy ourselves. This is why we can’t see ourselves passing the point of no return until it’s too late to start paddling away from the waterfall. Then, we fall. We ignore the signs of impending doom and start over anew what the generations before us tried to warn us about so we wouldn’t continue the cycle. It’s coming, they said. It’s coming for you, just as it did for me. Oh, yes, we try to make our era different than theirs by idiotically suggesting that things are different now, but then that page in history will look so similar to the destruction we see after we’ve ignored the warnings for too long and suffer the consequences. Suffering, though, can be an excellent teacher. It is the most fertile soil in which one can grow, and it produces strength in the trees that become the tallest in the forest. We are built to grow. Let’s do that.

The first step to doing that is to know ourselves. The general population is happy to go along with the flow, giving society the power to tell them what they should become and where they should belong. Rarely does a person get to know themselves before they start attempting to build themselves. The Greek philosophical maxim “γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (“know thyself”) succinctly describes the principle of viewing ourselves objectively. According to the Myers-Brigg personality test, I have an INFJ-T (Introvertive, iNtuition, Feeling, Judgment - Turbulent) personality. This test aids in determining how I interact with my environment and direct my mental energy, how I make decisions and cope with emotions. These all in turn define the methods I use in work, planning, and decision-making. This is what I am on paper, organized in a manila file in a drawer of thousands of other files. Why is it important to know this? Because with this information, I can learn my strengths and my weaknesses. It is the starting point to building on my strengths and overcoming or working around my weaknesses. All of this happens inside the organ we know as the brain. 

The human brain is an amazing thing. God is the Master Designer, so it”s no wonder that His Creation is capable of amazing things. Let me tell you some facts about the fascinating organ we call the mind. For starters, it requires electricity to function. Every human body is a proud owner of its own electric current and therefore its own electromagnetic field. This is the energy that fuels neurons, the communicators between our nervous system and the rest of our anatomy. Pathways are created in our brains that develop things such as personality and behavior, a freeway of information and function. Another fun fact is that the brain has what is known scientifically as plasticity. It has the ability to learn and grow. We can train our brain. From the moment we are born to the time when our minds expire, we learn how to process and adapt to the world around us. 

 I am fascinated by how the human mind works. I am no expert in the field whatsoever, but when one indulges in such studies, one can still learn a great deal of fundamentals that aid in how we interact with each other. The way we deal with and process our environment can have an impact on both us as individuals as well as our community. Knowing ourselves is the first step to an ability to creating ourselves. Most have an idea of who they are that is usually incongruent with their true selves. The Bible speaks of the possibility of self-deception, 1 Cor. 3:18, Gal. 6:7, 1 Jn. 1:8. This mindset prevents creativity and growth. When one does not have this self-awareness, one cannot objectively view their character and see where change is necessary. James wrote about 2 types of people: those that see themselves objectively and change what is in need of changing - and those that do not, James 1:22-25. It requires courage to both admit and identify flaws in our character, and to change those flaws is often a difficult task - but one that will never begin until the necessity is acknowledged.

 Behavior is “the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others.” (Siri helped out on that one.) Patterns emerge that give definition to how a person deals with:

-problem solving

-interpersonal relationships

-morality

-self-diagnosis

Behavior doesn’t lie, even when words do. There are behavioral patterns that a person cannot help but exhibit. We cannot read minds, but we can read behavior. (Not to say that it is not still limited in determining a person’s character, but it is a place to start gathering that information.) Jesus told His disciples, “by their fruits you will know them,” Mt. 7:20. Behavior starts as habits. We get into the routine of doing things the same way we have always done them. Defense is our knee-jerk reaction to anyone telling us that our habit is bad and needs changing. We defend before we consider; is it truly a bad habit? Five of the most difficult and least spoken words are “I was wrong” and “I’m sorry”. An innate self-preservation mechanism is built into our brains that initiates defense. Overpowering that mechanism takes practice. I have found in my experience in relationships that a person that can say the words “I was wrong” or “I’m sorry” is a person I want to get to know better…because they are rare. They are able to see the necessity of change and have been taught either by instruction or by the school of hard knocks how to admit a mistake. It is much easier to open up and be myself around such a person. They make vulnerability a little less frightening. David was such a person. He had his prolonged lapse in judgement throughout 2 Sam. 11, a lapse that resulted in atrocious decisions. He wasn’t seeing himself objectively - until God, through the prophet Nathan, made him look, 2 Sam. 12:1-23. David’s 51st psalm breaks the heart when we read of David’s emotion after seeing himself and what he had become. Paul was also such a person. God called Paul a “chosen vessel”, because Paul had a zeal that God could use if pointed in the right direction, Acts 9:15-16. Paul’s frequent mention of his past sins denoted a deep regret, to the point that he called himself the “chief of sinners”, 1 Tim. 1:15. David and Paul showed examples of how one can change for the better toward being righteous in the eyes of God.

 Sadly, the majority refuses to change. Paul, addressing his brethren the Jews, wrote, “Brethren, my hearts’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is the they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Rom. 10:1-3) Being caught up in one’s own righteousness is a dangerous place to be. We must be malleable in God’s hands, Mal. 3:3. 

The first step to getting back up is admitting one has fallen. No one can fix a mistake they refuse to acknowledge, Ps. 32:5, James 5:16. Next is forgiveness. God forgives the moment we ask, Mt. 7:11, James 5:15. Some habits die hard, but success depends on effort. When we put effort into becoming a person that pleases God, good habits become good behavior. The speed at which they become so varies, so don’t get discouraged when you find yourself losing ground or only gaining slowly. Don’t forget to ask your brethren for help if needed, Gal. 6:2, James 5:16. That’s what we do. We help each other get to Heaven.

I am the owner of a beat up, bruised, scarred, and mended life experience. We all have our stories of what made us who we are today, and mine is no more or less important than anyone’s story. All I have to offer is advise that is born from correcting my own mistakes using the right tool: scripture. I cannot express enough how important it is to build oneself using God’s word. I tried to do it another way. I tried being the Potter, Rom. 9:21. God was only a whisper in the back of my mind. I found that every path I took led to a place I didn’t want to go, every vessel I attempted to create would shatter. I always thought to myself, “Being a Christian means living a life of suffering.” I found that suffering is a truth of any life. I was already suffering. I realized that suffering for God has such a greater outcome than suffering for Satan. A life lived for God also has a hope that cannot be found in any other life, a hope that can get me through any turbulence. As a Christian, no matter the hardship, I know that there is rest on the other side. Satan cannot offer that. Only God can. Isaiah 64:8:

are you the clay, or are you too busy trying to be the Potter? 

Imagine with me, if you will, an entire group of people that are committed to doing things God’s way, Acts 2:40-47. You can see in their actions that they are Christlike. This group of people are gathering together to do the work of the Lord, assembling on the Lord’s Day to worship the Almighty God and Father, and are unselfishly likeminded in helping each other, those in need, and those that are lost without God. Such a community is what we all wish we could be a part of; a peaceloving family that makes getting through this life a little easier and not quite so daunting. The more time one spends in this community the less one is anxious concerning the fears of this life. I don’t fear death. Christ is stronger than death, 1 Cor. 15:26. I don’t fear poverty. The church takes care of its own, Rom. 15:26, Gal. 6:10. I don’t fear persecution. The Holy Spirit (παράκλητος, parakletos, “Helper” Jn. 14:26) is with all who are Christians in spirit and truth, 1 Cor. 6:19, 2 Tim. 1:14. I don’t fear loss. I will never lose God, Heb. 13:5, and because I put God’s word at the forefront of my life, everything else falls into place, Mt. 6:33-34, James 4:7-10.

It’s possible for an individual to change for the better, Ezek. 33:14-16. It’s possible for a nation to change for the better, Jonah 3:1-10. Obedience to God’s will is the pivotal point at which a person/nation begins this change. Steps toward God are the only steps that can bring you back up after you’ve fallen. Make the step, Rev. 22:17.