'Know thyself!'

When I was a senior in high school, my English literature teacher liked to dramatically quote the Greek saying, “Know thyself!” I think she felt it encouraged a sense of individual responsibility and awareness on our part, as it was often the last thing she said to us on Friday afternoon before setting us free for the weekend. I liked the sound of that saying—there was nobility in it, and it encouraged a kind of individual maturity that I hoped to develop. 

Years later, as a student of Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, I read this in her autobiography: “Art thou still unacquainted with thyself? Then be introduced to this self. ‘Know thyself!’ as said the classic Grecian motto. Note well the falsity of this mortal self! Behold its vileness, and remember this poverty-stricken ‘stranger that is within thy gates.’ Cleanse every stain from this wanderer’s soiled garments, wipe the dust from his feet and the tears from his eyes, that you may behold the real man, the fellow-saint of a holy household” (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 86).

Well, that’s pretty demanding work—involving much more than I’d learned from my high school English teacher! I can see now, in a way that I didn’t in high school, that this work cannot be done without God being part of the process. When I see a need for the kind of self-cleansing that Eddy describes, God naturally comes to thought. I find myself in prayer, yearning to better understand my Maker and my relationship to Him.

Many Bible accounts describe how self-knowledge naturally develops as an individual comes to know God better. One example is seen in the Old Testament patriarch Abraham, in the story of Abraham being tempted to sacrifice his son, Isaac (see Genesis 22:1–18). To me it seems that Abraham loved Isaac so much that he might have been believing that he put his son before his own devotion to God. Yet his experience on the mountain with the altar of sacrifice taught Abraham an undeniable truth—he loved God above all else.

Knowing oneself is ultimately found through prayer—the prayer that recognizes the goodness that has always been inherent in one's identity.

What relief and joy this self-discovery must have brought. He had the immediate relief of recognizing and understanding that God, good, had in fact never intended him to sacrifice Isaac. And he probably felt an accompanying joy in discovering the purity of his own heart, knowing that, as much as he loved his son, the truth about his real identity was that God was the absolute center of his life. What a homecoming to recognize his own innocence and devotion to good.

Prayer is a perfect vehicle for gaining the kind of spiritual self-knowledge that Abraham discovered. Knowing oneself is ultimately possible through prayer—the prayer that recognizes the goodness that has always been inherent in one’s identity, only perhaps hidden by some false concepts about oneself or temporarily drowned out by the noise of the world’s beliefs about identity. 

The result of such prayer, though, is not simply a cleaned-up mortal. Actually, the outcome is a whole new outlook—a joyful discovery in oneself of “the real man, the fellow-saint of a holy household.” Knowing oneself in this profound way is a treasure hunt. It is an opportunity to know a bit more of one’s own Godlikeness, in a tangible, individual way. 

When I pray with true inspiration about God and man, this kind of self-knowledge emerges—in the form of a quiet knowing within, a feeling of oneness with God, as well as a clearer, more inspired sense of my fellow man. I find a greater ability to resist going back to old, material ways of thinking and characterizing myself and others. Rather than recognizing faults, I’m discovering the faultless, true nature of each one of us.  

In this mental state, I can best appreciate Eddy’s counsel: “At all times and under all circumstances, overcome evil with good. Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 571).

It’s this deep self-knowledge that allows us, even compels us, to make substantial exchanges in thought, trading beliefs of personal shortcomings (such as material mindedness, extreme ambition, childishness, or selfishness) for the spiritual understanding that men and women inherently possess divine qualities such as maturity, consecration to God, righteousness, and meekness.

I have found knowing myself to bring a higher, more loving standard of conduct, a greater sense of self-worth, and a better quality of life. It makes ideals and goals that seemed out of reach become possible and natural. Perhaps best of all, it gives me a clearer view of the Godlike nature expressed in everyone around me.