Finding Out Who We Are

Last updated on: March 11, 2019 at 3:04 am by Henry Karlson

Finding Out Who We Are 2019-03-11T03:04:30-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Who Are You, Who Am I?
Source: Rick’s Visualizations / flickr

We are on a journey – a journey towards our true homeland, the kingdom of God. Along the way we will come to know ourselves. Who am I? What am I? What is my purpose? What exactly is this “I” that I speak of? Unless we come to know ourselves, unless we come to know and understand what this “I” is, and what it is not, we will not find our way to the kingdom of God. It is only by coming to know who we truly are, only by coming to know our true face in the eternity of God, can we find ourselves free from all error: for it is ignorance of the self, ignorance of who and what we are and what we are not, which leads us to act and react in ways contrary to our own good. In our ignorance, we find ourselves seeking out and desiring those things which do us no good, seeking to hold on to them and possesses them for their apparent goodness, leading to all kinds of inordinate clinging and attachment, all the while we despise and hate, indeed, seek to destroy all those who get in our way from attaining such inappropriate goods. That is, our ignorance of ourselves, who and what we are, and what really is good for us, leads us to bad attachments to those things which we improperly think will bring to us the fullness of the good which we want as well as ill-will and spite against all those who oppose our appropriation of such apparent goods (and it should not be surprising, we will often despise those who oppose our desire even though their opposition will actually lead us to a greater good than what would be had if we attained our desire).[1] St. Theodoros, therefore, said ignorance is the root of all our evils:

Indeed, ignorance is the root of all evils. For no one who has once grasped as he should the true nature of things – from where each thing comes and how it is perverted – can then totally disregard his own purpose and be dragged down to worldly things. The soul does not want a good that is only apparent. [2]

So long as we remain ignorant, we will act foolishly, often contrary to our own proper good and so we will act in ways which will bring us suffering. “It is not good for a man to be without knowledge, and he who makes haste with his feet misses his way” (Prov. 19:2 RSV). We might attain some momentary pleasure, to be sure, but once that moment is past, the angst of life will return, and we will either desire more and more such pleasures, finding out that we have become addicts who find such pleasure satisfies us less and less, or else find ourselves moving on to the next, best thing, hating all that we think will hinder us from attaining our new desire. The teachings of the Christian faith are meant to help us overcome our ignorance so that we can follow the path of virtue to beatitude. They reveal to us the ways of overcoming the inordinate passions and malice which such ignorance generates, which is why we are exhorted, once we have come to the faith, to act according to the wisdom of the faith and not return to the foolish ways which come from such ignorance: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another” (Tit. 3:3 RSV).

Follow the path of righteousness, to be sure, is not easy. We have developed bad habits which we must fight against them. The more we act, the more habits we develop, and the more bad habits can affect us so that like an addict, we will find ourselves ignoring exhortations to the contrary as our intellect is hindered by the desires generated by our actions. That is, because of the habits which we have developed, our minds have become defiled, filtering thoughts according to the desires which we have set up for ourselves. Thus, it can be said, we habitually think along the lines established by our passions, as St. Neilos the Ascetic understood:

Each passion, when active within someone whom it controls, holds is intelligence in chains; why, then, cannot zeal for holiness keep our mind free from everything else? When an angry man fights in his imagination against the person who has offended him, is he conscious of anything external? Is not the same true of the man who desires material possessions, when he imagines ways of getting what he wants? And the lustful man, even when in the company of others, often becomes oblivious of his surroundings and sits like a block of stone, saying nothing, thinking only of the women he desires; turning in upon himself, he is completely absorbed by his own fantasies. [3]

If we want the kingdom of God, if we want to experience the kingdom of God, not just in death, but in life, we must free our mind from all defiled forms of thinking. We must hold to and act upon what is just and good; what is unjust and wicked, we must avoid. Thus, St. Hesychios the Priest exhorted his readers:

If you do not want to suffer evil, do not inflict it, since the suffering of it inevitably follows its infliction. ‘For whatever a man sows he will also reap’ (Gal. 6:7). Reaping unwillingly the wickedness we deliberately sow, we should marvel at God’s justice.[4]

Until we know the truth innately, we must rely upon the aids God has given us, not only the grace which we need in order to cleanse ourselves from such defilements and to be healed from harm we have caused to ourselves by acting foolishly, but also the wisdom offered by Scripture and good and holy men and women who have come to know God and can radiate his just love and truth to all who come upon them. We must walk the path of righteous, following the example of the righteous before us, not slavishly imitating them, but discerning the prudence of their actions and acting in a way which such prudence indicates in our own particular situations. We must not, however, follow the way of those who do evil, those who promote injustice:

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made some one stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble (Prov. 4:14-19 RSV).

Those who promote injustice will suggest the pleasure which they offer fulfills the desires of the soul, but all they offer is but a poor imitation of the good which will never truly satisfy us. If we watch them, their actions will show how far they are from happiness themselves as they attack and harm the innocent for the sake of their own personal pleasure. “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still” (1Jn. 2:19 RSV). The wicked will show their hate, and in doing so, show they are not offering the path towards wisdom and happiness. They will ravish the world and all that is in it, spoiling it for their personal gain, trying to make it theirs, until at last, they tire of it and toss it away like a piece of trash. If they cannot do so, then they their ill-will, their spite will reign supreme while they find sophistical excuses to justify their abuse.

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offense” (Prov. 10:12 RSV). The righteous will show themselves to be just because they will act in accordance to the dictates of love. They will not seek to dominate or destroy, but rather lift up and heal the harm others have unjustly suffered. The more they act in love, the more they will realize their proper relationship with others, and begin to understand themselves. The more they understand themselves, the freer they will be, until they know themselves as they are and therefore, know themselves in relation to God and his dispensations so that they will be able to be truly free in Christ, as St. Antony the Great explained in his letters:

The rational man who has prepared himself to be set free through the advent of Jesus, knows himself in his intellectual substance. For he who knows himself knows the dispensations of the Creator and all that He does among His creatures. [5]

We must seek wisdom. To seek it, we must act upon it, to let the wisdom which we have attained form us, purifying us from those actions which we have done in ignorance so that we can then attain more wisdom, more understanding of ourselves, by which we can act better. Then, when we have truly prepared ourselves to be set free, we will find ourselves in the kingdom of God, attaining, therefore, union with God in and through Jesus Christ: this is the advent of Jesus which we must seek.

[1] This, then, demonstrates the wisdom contained in the Buddhist tradition as it discusses the three great poisons, the three great unwholesome roots our character flaws, which make us suffer: moha (ignorance), raga (greed, desire, lust, attachment), and dveṣa (hate and aversion).

[2] St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic, “Theoretikon” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume Two. Trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware et. al. (London: Faber and Faber, 1990), 46.

[3] St. Neilos the Ascetic, “Ascetic Discourse,” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume One. Trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware et. al. (London: Faber and Faber, 1983), 249.

[4] St. Hesychios the Priest, “On Watchfulness and Holiness,” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Volume One. Trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware et. al. (London: Faber and Faber, 1983), 172.

[5] St. Antony, “Letter III” in The Letters of Saint Antony the Great. Trans. Derwas J. Chitty (Fairacres, Oxford: SLG Press, 1991), 9.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook

Previous Post

March 8, 2019

The Puzzle of God

Next Post

March 12, 2019 Humble Love

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz