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Self awareness is intricately related to our relationship with God. In fact, the challenge of Scripture to shed our ‘false’ self in order to live authentically in our new ‘true’ self strikes at the very core of true spirituality.
In AD500, Augustine wrote in ‘Confessions,’ “How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self?” He prayed: “Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee.”
In 1530, John Calvin wrote in his opening of the ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion:’ “Our wisdom…. consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.’
The vast majority of us go to our graves without knowing who we are. Without being fully aware of it, we live someone else’s life, or at least someone else’s expectations for us. This does violence to ourselves, to our relationship with God, and ultimately to others.
In the well known David & Goliath story we encounter a young David whose confidence comes from both knowing himself and knowing God David knew he couldn’t fight might with might and win. To have gone up against Goliath in illfitting, heavy armour and carrying a sword would have been a terrible mistake. It is an even match because he uses the unique gifts and skills that God has given him; he uses his sling shot, a skill’s he’s practiced and used before against bears and wolves.