#2 Self-Knowledge

The first law we explored was self-acceptance, a crucial aspect in the context of God’s love. When we accept ourselves, we give ourselves more permission to know who we are. Self-knowledge, the second of God’s Emotional Laws, becomes a journey of self-discovery and growth. 

When we agree that we will accept whatever we discover about ourselves because God loves us no matter what, it makes knowing about ourselves easier. Self-discovery, then, becomes a journey of fascination and curiosity with God as our trusted partner, not one of foreboding, denial, dread, guilt, and shame.

So, what is self-knowledge? It is the clear perception of a truth or fact. It includes wisdom, insight, and understanding. We already know ourselves better than we think but can spend much time refusing to admit (or actively hiding) what we already know. 

For many of us, accepting excellent aspects of ourselves is far more complex than acknowledging nasty ones. Many of us take our positive qualities for granted. Taking something for granted is like putting it away in a closet and forgetting about it. Yes, we own it, we control it, and we can use it whenever we want – but if we forget about it and hide it under a bushel, we won’t use it. God gives us gifts to use for Him. Diminishing these gifts keeps us from expressing them to His glory. 

There’s a very helpful way to get to know about ourselves. When we look at others, we tend to evaluate or judge. These evaluations are important to notice because they tell us a lot about ourselves. It’s known as the mirror concept, a valuable tool for self-reflection. Most of what we judge about the people and things around us is true about ourselves. We are looking into a mirror – the mirror reflects back to us information about ourselves. You may not always like what you see in the mirror; you may not always be comfortable with it; but, if you want to learn about yourself more quickly, looking in the mirror of our reaction to people is a valuable tool. 

You look at someone and think, “She is angry, and I don’t like that.” Could it be you don’t like being angry? If you observe someone and say, “He’s afraid to act. I wish he’d just do it.” Could there be something you’re afraid of, something you wish you would “just do”?

Get the idea? People act, and then we have judgments about those actions. If we self-reflect, we may find a similar judgment about ourselves and that is a truth God can work with.

Carl Jung, a famous psychotherapist, said, “If people can be educated to see the lowly side of their own natures, it may be hoped that they will also learn to understand and to love their fellow humans better. A little less hypocrisy and a little more tolerance toward oneself can only have good results regarding our neighbor, for we are all too prone to transfer to our fellows the injustice and violence we inflict upon our own natures.”

God says, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It is a law, it’s the way we are. Proverbs 23:7 says that as we think in our hearts, so are we.