Know Thyself

~ Jesse Eyestone ~

8/2/2026

// INTRO

Psalms 139:23-24

139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

139:24 And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Philippians 2:12-13

2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.

// Know Thyself

Socrates once said two words that serve as one of the most powerful bits of advice you could ever receive.
"Know thyself"
This is also a bit of advice that is VERY commonly disposed of and ignored.
Mostly because people, by and large, think that they already 'know themselves.'
When I was 35 years old, a friend told me, "Jess, the hard times in life are going to show you who you really are."
My response (spoken with lots of pride) was, "I already know who I am!"
After all, I was already 35 years old and had already been through some pretty tough times.
Years later, as I approached 40, I figured out that he was right...
The struggles that I went through during those years showed me where I was strong and where I was willing to compromise.
I found out that I had not yet discovered my own limits, both good and bad.
Situations that put to the test the OH, SO BOLD declarations that I had made and lines in the sand that I had drawn...
Some of those bold declarations I failed to honor and some of those lines I did indeed cross.

"Know thyself..."
One of the stupidest things you can do is think that you know yourself well enough.
I know more about myself now than I did two weeks ago, just to give you context.
This whole, "Know thyself" thing, though it was said by one who was not a Christian (Socrates was around before Christ)
is actually a very solid Biblical principle!
And you all know how much I like talking about Biblical principles.

2nd Corinthians 13:5

13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Lamentations 3:40

3:40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.

Now, there's a lot more than that.
But in the next passages, there's an element that I want you to see...

// Know Thyself Through God

Jeremiah 17:9-10

17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

17:10 I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of his doings.

Did you see the new element that was added?
Searching yourself; self-examining or self-reflecting is all well and good...
But letting God do it...
That's when you're going to truly discover what NEEDS to be discovered about yourself!

Psalms 139:23-24

139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

139:24 And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We NEED God to do the searching!
We need Jesus to shine a light on our faults!
So that we KNOW where we need to be corrected!
So we KNOW where we need to be cleansed!

I don't care who you are, how old you are, or what you've accomplished or been through...
We ALL need to regularly go before the Lord and let HIM examine us.
We need to both SEE and ACKNOWLEDGE our faults.
And the more pride you have in your heart...
The harder it will be for you to even be willing to let Him show you.

James 1:22-26

1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, [ Faith without works thing ] he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion [is] vain.

James is talking about people that are unwilling to address what they see.
Dr. Stanton Samenow was a clinical psychologist who focused on criminal behavior and forensic psychology.
He wrote a fascinating book entitled, "Inside the Criminal Mind" which explains, well, the criminal mind.
It should be noted that this book was banned in TDCJ after it was used by inmates to successfully manipulate the parole system
It was THAT accurate!
In chapter three, which is entitled "Errors in Thinking" - Dr. Samenow describes 12 different types of thinking errors commonly found in criminals.
The writing is as follows...

"Inside the Criminal Mind"

Dr. Stanton Samenow

Page 30

5. The Criminal's Sense of Uniqueness

"The criminal’s sense of uniqueness forms the cornerstone of his self-image. He believes that no one can possibly understand him or have thoughts like his, and he is uninterested in others’ ideas because he regards his ideas as superior. He resents being offered a suggestion that he did not propose. Because he didn’t originate the idea, it has no merit. To take others’ advice is demeaning. He is far more likely to give advice than to seek it. To ask questions is tantamount to admitting ignorance.""

Sound like pride, yet?

"The criminal makes his own rules and decides whether others’ rules should apply to him. He need not explain what he does or seek permission for anything. The criminal’s sense of uniqueness is a formidable barrier to (against) change..."

Knowing ourselves is important.
But I think that knowing ourselves from GOD's perspective is MOST important!
We NEED His perspective!

Isaiah 55:6-9

55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

55:8 For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

55:9 For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Please, brothers and sisters, let God show you your flawed thinking!
We MUST have that!
Because without it...

Proverbs 28:13

28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.

Psalms 32:3-5

32:3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

32:4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Know this: Ignoring your faults; refusing to acknowledge your flawed thinking...
That is sin!

James 4:16-17

4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.

1st John 1:8-9

1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

// Correcting What You Find

I'm almost done...
Sometimes, we need each other to get these wrinkles in our thinking ironed out.
I'm very grateful that I'm surrounded by men and women of God.
Because there are times when I can't see my own errors.
Sometimes even when I am looking for them.

Galatians 6:1-5

6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.