DO YOU KNOW …YOU?

Do YOU know YOU? Do you know in what ways, you annoy people? How you anger them? Do you know why it is, that some peoples actions annoy and anger you…, while other people, doing the exact same actions, don’t bother you? Most of the time, we only recognize the result, but never even think as to what the cause is. We know when we are disappointed, but give no thought as to whether or not our expectations that cause that disappointment are realistic. Again, we only recognize and think about the result. But we hardly ever, if at all, delve into the why of why things bother us. For many of us it is sufficient to know that “THEY JUST DO”, and don’t consider the “WHY THEY DO”.

I think the first thing about being a Christian is that we must know and truly understand ourselves. We must see ourselves, as we really are, not as we think we are. Wisdom, Understanding, etc. the GIFTS of the Holy Spirit are a necessity in our daily lives. We should pray for them daily. If we don’t know and understand our imperfections, if we don’t pay attention to the wrongs in our life, how can we possibly appreciate our salvation by the Christ? If we think, “Hey, I am not so bad”, then it is only a small step to “Christ died for the really bad people, not me”. What did the Pharisee pray? Wasn’t it, “Lord, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of mankind…” Down deep we see ourselves as virtuous, good, holy people. And we very well may be. BUT, if we really want to be virtuous, good and holy, shouldn’t we investigate what makes us tick? Shouldn’t we know the answer as to why do some people’s actions bother us and other people, doing the exact same thing, don’t bother us?

If you are given a gift, but don’t recognize its worth, then you can only appreciate the act of the giving; the gift, itself, however, because it has little or no value to you, will be regarded only as a memento. Christ gave to all sinners, a gift, the gift of Himself, as He hung on the cross. This Human and Divine Person gave up His life for the sins of mankind. He showed mankind how it was to live, by living His life. He showed mankind that we should not fear the loss of life, but rather fear the loss of our relationship with God.

Each of us has sinned, and for each of us Jesus has died. The extent of our sins is known only to God and to ourselves. What do we gain if we ignore, or make trivial of the sins that we do? Shouldn’t we strive to truly know and understand ourselves, so that we can eradicate all actions that displease our God? When people or things bother us so much so, that we choose to ignore people, or treat people differently, or to avoid people altogether, then it is definitely time to strive to know and understand ourselves. We have packed these people into a box long enough. We have catalogued them and branded them and eventually avoided them. Our world will no longer be disturbed by these people, because we don’t deal with them anymore. “Lord, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of mankind…” And what does all this lack of sinfulness imply on our part? If you are not really a sinner, or if your transgressions are only trivial (and hardly worth mentioning) then Jesus’ giving of Himself on the cross is just a memento to you. The more we see ourselves, as we really are, the more we can appreciate the salvific gift that Jesus has given us.

There are good and holy people in this world and you may truly be one of them. And if you are, we ask you to pray for us, to help us in understanding ourselves, to overcome our deficiencies. Pray that we may seek to understand our actions, strive to find out what controls them, and eventually, with the help of the Holy Spirit, eradicate them from our lives. And lastly, pray that the world (and ourselves included) begins to realize that it is not perfect, it does have imperfections, and that it will begin to seek out remedies not for others, but for itself.