Study God, Not Self

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

Anthropology (the study of humankind) does not determine theology (the study of God).

In other words, you don’t interpret you in order to interpret God. That’s the problem in our current culture. People are studying themselves and hoping as a byproduct that they’ll come to an understanding of God.

In order to understand you, you must first understand God.

That’s why in Genesis, it doesn’t say “In the beginning, man…” but rather “In the beginning, God...” God created man in His own image, after His own likeness, and breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul.

You can’t become aware of who you are, the complexities that make up your personality, and the calling that God has bestowed upon your life until you understand God. That’s why He allows difficult experiences and takes you to unpleasant places sometimes in your life. He lets life drag you through certain calamities because He’s trying to stir up the gift that He has placed inside of you.

If you understand God, then you can understand yourself. You’ll realize that no weapon formed against you will prosper. You can’t be mad that those weapons are formed; you just have to thank God that you’re stronger in Him than anything this world brings against you. He’s working it all together for your good because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.