Weekly Thought Archives > Look In the Mirror

Look In the Mirror

Hurt gives us the opportunity to know ourselves much better than does success. Many of the world’s great achievers have been lonely. This gave deeper self-knowledge and understanding of their uniqueness. When the time came to steer their course, they didn’t have to depend on others.

These alone times help us know two things: 1) our destructive weaknesses and 2) our constructive strengths. Knowing these two allows freedom to operate well under pressure.

We never truly know ourselves until we navigate the easy and hard times. The breadth of our weaknesses is hidden if we only have one experience or the other. Just as it is important to know the weight limit on a bridge, so it is important to know our own breaking point. We can bolster our weaknesses only if we truly understand them.

As Dr. Dennis Gabor in The Mature Society points out, history provides proof that in trouble man can be noble, but cannot sustain that nobility in long-term prosperity.

In an old issue of The Monthly Letter of the Royal Bank of Canada, I read, "The determining element in maturity is not so much what happens to a person, but the way he takes it. The responses to life of a mature person are of good quality and can be counted on." The opposite if the juvenile response to problems and the obligations of life.

Knowledge of our self must include our ability to trust others and to trust principles, particularly divine principles. Eric Erickson, the eminent psychiatrist, says that the proper development of trust in a child is one of the most fundamental necessities for a healthy life. Too often I see people in trouble who have let trust turn to cynicism.

The lack of well-placed trust creates tentative living. Trust in the one true God gives us strength to walk through the dark times. Knowledge of Him allows knowledge of ourselves. And self-knowledge comes as one of the values of the valleys.

This week think about: 1) How have dark times helped me know myself? 2) Where am I finding the value in the valley? 3) What are my destructive weaknesses, as well as my constructive strengths?

Words of Wisdom: "Self-knowledge is one of the values of the valleys."

Wisdom from the Word: "But I trust in your faithfulness. May I rejoice because of your deliverance." (Psalm 13:5 NET Bible)