The Power of Self-Knowledge

Last updated on: January 16, 2026 at 10:38 am by Richard E. Simmons III

The Power of Self-Knowledge 2026-01-16T10:38:45-06:00 Richard E. Simmons III

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When you read the four gospels, you find that so much of Jesus’s teaching to be quite straight forward and easy to understand. However, some of his words can be intriguing, even hard to grasp.

I found this to be the case when, many years ago, I read the words from the Sermon on the Mount:

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ and behold the log is in your own eye. You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Mathew 7:3-5)

Jesus is pointing out that we so easily see the flaws, the shortcomings, and the sin in other people’s lives, but are completely blind to these same bad qualities in our own lives. He is quite clear that we cannot effectively confront the speck in our brother’s eye until we deal with the logs in our own.

Several years ago I read a book by Alister McGrath titled, If I had Lunch with C.S. Lewis. It was an excellent book, and at one point McGrath says that “self-knowledge has always been an important theme in Christian spirituality.” He said that this was very important to C.S. Lewis as well.

McGrath was also one of the authors of a biography on Lewis’s life. He said that while writing Lewis’s biography:

I frequently found myself concerned about his behaviour in the 1910s and 1920s. Lewis regularly lied to his father about his financial situation and his relationship with Mrs. Moore, and felt no remorse about doing so. Deception seemed to come easily to Lewis, especially in his relationship with his father. Yet Lewis’s conversion in 1930 changed everything. He began to deal with his own darker side. He realized that he was self-obsessed, and stopped keeping a diary. Most significant, Lewis came to regret his behaviour towards his father. He realized he had acted unforgivably.

Owen Barfield, one of Lewis’s closest friends, once remarked that the mature Lewis came to understand “self-knowledge” as a “recognition of his own weaknesses and shortcomings.” Perhaps we should not be surprised that this is a major theme in the Chronicles of Narnia*. For Lewis, one of Aslan’s chief roles is to enable people to discover the truth about themselves. Aslan is such a commanding figure that he helps people who might otherwise remain locked in self-deception break free from this prison. Somehow, Aslan makes it possible for people to confront the truth about themselves.*

I truly believe the healthiest people in life are those willing to confront the truth about themselves. I suggest each day we ask God to “show us the logs in our lives,” so that we not only see them, but also deal with them and eliminate them from our lives.

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.

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