OFTEN when a person, either through ignorance, apathy, or human will, is acting contrary to what is his normal behavior, someone will say, "Be yourself!" But what is this self that one is expected to be? Is it material or spiritual? The standard of normal human behavior differs throughout the world according to custom and education, and it is usually based on a material sense of self.
However, there is but one real standard of selfhood for everyone, and it is spiritual. It was clearly stated by Christ Jesus when he said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). In common parlance Jesus was saying, "Be yourself!"
To accept this standard of perfection and let our human lives be governed by it will gradually free us from the influence and limitation of custom and education, of material theories of heredity and environment, of discord and disease, of weakness and vacillation. We shall stop making excuses for the limitations of so-called mortal selfhood and be more willing to let go of these limitations.
