Proverbs 9:12. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
We live in a world that tells us to be true to yourself, listen to your heart, follow your dreams, live your truth, and do what is right for you. This is called individualism, or some scholars have called it “expressive individualism.” Expressive individualism makes you the most important person and the expression of your true self the most important value that you can have. For the expressive individualist, wisdom is found inside of us; we simply have to learn to let it out through self-expression and ultimately through self-actualization.
You may have noticed that we are using the word “self” a lot today. Well that’s because Proverbs 9:12 also uses the word self –yourself.
Proverbs 9:12 sounds like individualism – If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. And, yes, Solomon is saying that the best way to be your true self is to be wise. But we must remember how Solomon defined wisdom just two verses earlier:
Proverbs 9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
It’s never our own wisdom that makes us our true self, it is God’s wisdom. Fearing God, loving him, and loving what he loves. Trusting God with your whole heart, obeying him, this is how a person becomes their true self. Each of us was made in the image of God. So for any of us to be our true self we must image or reflect God and his love to others. That means putting others first, not your own “truth,” your own heart, or your own dreams.
Jesus was the truest self that ever lived. But he was also the most submissive, dependent, and humble self that ever lived. Jesus knew what we all need to know – our true identity is given to us by God, not created by us in our own inner being.
So how does a person become their true self? The same way Jesus did – by his connection to the Father. For us it is through our connection to Jesus: Christ in us. The indwelling life of Christ in us is what makes us increasingly into the likeness of Jesus while maintaining our individual personhood. As a Christian your true self will always look simultaneously like Jesus and like you. Not the old you, of course, but the new you. The spirit led you. The real you that you were meant to be all along.
You: How would you define your true self?
You in Christ: How can we be like Christ and our true selves at the same time? Why is that not a contradiction?
Christ in you: In what ways can you see Jesus’ wisdom making you into your “true self?”
Pray: Father, you want me to be me and you want me to image your son, Jesus, at the same time. Thank you for my union with Christ that makes this possible. Amen.
To Live is Christ 