KNOW THYSELF?

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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In his writings known as the Dialogues, the Greek philosopher Plato said that the maxim, “know thyself” was the starting point for any student seeking wisdom. 

The idea has been around a long time. Plato was born around 428 BC, which is a long time ago to be sure. But to put his “wisdom” into perspective, Malachi, the final book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), was written around the same time as Plato was born. 

We often attribute Plato and Socrates as being the originators of much of our modern way of thinking and therefore lift them up as wiser than all others. But really, they were super late to the party. The whole of the Hebrew Bible was wrapped up, recorded, and safely stored on scrolls in libraries around the world before the Greeks began to question their own reality.  

Hebrew Wisdom

One such example of the wisdom of God as provided through the authors and prophets of the Hebrew people can be heard in the message of Psalm 139, a message attributed to King David, who lived over 500 years BEFORE Plato hit the streets of Athens. 

23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24  See if there is any offensive way  in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

(Psalms 139:23-24 NIV11)

Better

In many ways, this call for the people of God to know themselves through God’s perspective and through his truth is far superior to the Greek call to know yourself based on your own limited perspective and wisdom. 

If we really want to know what is real in our minds and in our actions, we need to ask someone who has real wisdom, someone who can see us for who we really are, someone with an eternal perspective. 

It is important that we submit ourselves to the Lord and allow our creator access to all parts of our lives and all areas of our thoughts and desires. Only God knows our true motives and only the Lord can see the true source of our anxious thoughts. 

Jeremiah 

In the passage that follows, the Lord was speaking through the Prophet Jeremiah (writing at least 100 years before Plato stared at his navel) about our real need to allow the Lord to be the source of our examination. Listen to what follows:

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” 

9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

(Jeremiah 17:7-10 NIV11)

Stable

In verses 7-8 we are told that the person who trust in the Lord will find that they are less susceptible to the changes of the world around them. The deeper we go in our understanding of the Lord, the deeper his truth will go in the work of bring us stability and strength. 

The world will run hot and cold, but the child of God who welcomes the truth of God’s word into their hearts and minds, will see all of this drama for what it is, nothing more than the cycles of life and death. 

The Heart

In verse 9 we are told the number one reason why the individualized philosophy of Plato and the Western world will never bring us to a place of true wisdom and understanding. We cannot look inward using our own limited and sinful minds and expect that we are going to be able to discover real and objective truth. 

If our hearts are deceitful, leading us into unwise and destructive situations on the premise that the heart wants what the heart wants, then we cannot trust what we find when we stare at our navels and search for enlightenment. 

Our emotions are like the cycles of rain and drought mentioned in verses 7-8. 

They will come and go, rise up and fall down based on the direction of the wind. 

If we want to know the truth about who we are and what is really going on in our hearts and minds, we need to stop trying to know ourselves by our own ability and we need to start letting the truth of God’s word become the filter that shows us who we really are. 

Take that Plato!

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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