“Discover Yourself”

  • Proverbs 18:2 “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” 
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Throughout my Christian years, I have heard various fads of self-discovery circulated throughout the Christian community. When I was a teen, it was Tim LaHaye’s 4 temperaments. There has also been Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages. These kinds of topics are popular because the focus is self-discovery, and honestly, people like focusing on ourselves. (Hence the fascination with selfies, Facebook, Twitter, etc….) However, Christians must rise up from the baseness of such foolish pursuits. Our text reveals that fools are concerned with only learning themselves. The wise man, however, is fascinated with God and focused on God and learning about God and growing in God and being like God, not more of himself. 

  • II Pet. 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 
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Every believer is commanded to grow in grace: God’s power and personality, not your own strength and personality. Every believer is commanded to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, not you and yourself. Christ is our all consuming passion and power and personality, not ourselves. We are base. Our flesh is unprofitable. Whether you are shy or outgoing, abrasive or gentle, your natural temperament, personality, or method of loving is sinfully debased. We are all sinners (Rm. 3:23). When you are saved, all things become new (II Cor. 5:17) through Jesus Who is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, etc…(I Cor. 1:30). Your shyness turns into boldness to preach the gospel (Eph. 3:12). Your usual outgoing spirit changes into “a time to every purpose under the heaven…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:1, 7). Don’t you remember how the disciples were before they were filled with the Spirit? They each had their quirks of personality (the boisterous “sons of thunder” and the “think before you speak”, natural-born leader Peter), but after Christ filled them, their very enemies did not see their personalities and temperaments, but rather that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13)! Instead of man’s wisdom and/or psychology, we need to get back to Scripture! Your natural flesh may only love or want to be loved a certain way. So, the 5 love languages of self-discovery really speaks to the “fool”ish part of you and to your flesh. But, friend, your flesh is selfish. Your flesh is unprofitable (Jn. 6:63). There is absolutely nothing good in your flesh (Rom. 7:18). Dear reader, God is love (I Jn. 4:8, 16)! God has all the “love languages” and all of God’s love abides in you through Jesus and all of God’s love should be displayed and received by you. 

Dear reader, do not get caught up in fads of self-discovery. Christ is your main discovery!