"Know thyself" ~ Socrates
Do you believe in God?
You hear this question all the time.
What does this even mean?
What does it mean to "BELIEVE?"
Is belief based on the words you say, "I believe in [Blank]."
In my opinion "belief" or what is means to "believe" is a KNOWING.
It's knowledge of something or someone.
Think of it like this.
You can’t believe I exist until you know me. Until you experience me (it's not enough to just believe).
If you don’t know me then you cannot build a foundation of trust with me and come to believe in the words I say. You certainly won't trust me to get you the result I say I can deliver if you don’t know me.
You must first come to know me, so you can establish a relationship with me.
After you’ve established a relationship (and foundation of trust) with me... this leads to belief. Believing what I tell you is the truth.
That's the philosophical definition of "faith" after all.
Believing what someone tells you is the truth... the objective truth.
And it starts with "knowing."
You also can't build trust -- and by consequence, belief -- in yourself without KNOWING thyself and the truth of your identity, first.
This is what I call...
"The Cycle of Trust"
... and it applies to all 5 elements of a strongman.
Trusting your thoughts.
Trust in your physical abilities.
Trusting your emotions with yourself or another.
Trust in the LORD.
Trusting your fellow man to come through on his word.
You would not have enrolled in this program if you did not first: trust and then come to believe in my ability to help you become a stronger/better man.
That trust was proceeded by knowledge and "likability."
You cannot trust someone without knowing and liking them first.
And that's what I wanna unpack this week:
1.) What does it mean to believe in God?
2.) What does it mean to believe in yourself?
First I wanna unpack what it means to believe in God.
Why start there?
I'll get to that in a second.
First let's start with...
Part 1: How to Come to the Knowledge of God's Existence
Before you can "believe" in something/someone.
You need revealed knowledge of their existence.
"Starting from movement, becoming, contingency, and the world order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God, as the origin and the end of the universe." ~ CCC 32
This is what we know as "natural revelation."
Coming to know the existence of God through creation.
Take a look at the world around you.
Everything had order.
Everything has beauty.
Everything has purpose.
St. Augustine issues this challenge...
"Question the beauty of the Earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air, distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky… Question all these realities. They’ll respond: 'see, we are beautiful.' Their beauty is a profession. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them is not, the Beautiful One who is not subject to change?" ~ St. Augustine, Confessions
Beauty has meaning.
If we can't believe in God... believing in anything else means nothing.
Why?
Because without God nothing has meaning.
Everything is an accident.
In fact...
There are 3 objective truths/consequences if God does not exist.
1.) There is no free will (because everything is "fixed" and absolute).
2.) There is no such thing as right or wrong.
3.) There is no meaning to the universe.
The second way we can come to the knowledge of God is by looking at the human person.
Yes.
Literally look yourself in the mirror.
Your life has order.
You are beautiful.
Your life has meaning.
400 Trillion to 1
Those are the odds of you being born and here reading my words. 400 TRILLION TO 1, brother.
Of all the people and combinations throughout history which had to 1.) come into existence and 2.) come together to give birth to... YOU.
God WILLED for YOU to be born.
He knew every hair on your head and called you by name.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." ~ Jeremiah 1:5
You are not an accident and you're certainly NOT an animal.
Every aspect of your being has order.
You possess a rational soul and are the only creature on earth God has willed for your own sake (CCC 356).
"Being in the image of God, the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self knowledge, of possession, and a freely, giving himself and entering into communion with other persons, and he is called by grace to a covenant with his creator, to offer Him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give him his steed." ~ CCC 357
The sole purpose of your (and my) existence is to share in God's life.
Man's 3-Fold Purpose
Purpose.
Meaning.
Without them... men are lost.
But what is "purpose?"
More specifically, what is YOUR purpose?
I "believe" -- through divine revelation -- you and I have a 3-fold purpose.
Purpose #1: Seek to know and do God's will.
What is God's will?
This is a question I've had my entire life and I never felt anyone I asked could satisfy my thirst for this understanding. Until I read St. Louie De Montfort's book, "The Secret of Mary."
I believe he puts it best.
“Faithful soul, living image of God, redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, it is the will of God that you be holy like Him in this life and glorious like Him in the next. Your sure vocation is the acquisition of the holiness of God, and unless all your thoughts and words and actions, and all sufferings and events of your life tend to that end, you are resisting God by not doing that for which He has created you for and is now preserving you.” ~ St. Louis De Montfort, Secret of Mary pg. 7
This is our TRUEST purpose in LIFE from the spiritual perspective.
Not only that… the mere reason God is still holding us in EXISTENCE today… is 1.) He loves us and 2.) for us to become holy as He is holy.
Why?
Because we are made for HIM.
We will be returning to him but before we can be in His presence we must be holy. Pure. Spotless. And without blemish.
Every thought and action should seek this end.
How does one become holy?
Well... a post for another post.
For now, just know... seeking to know Christ and making Him the object of our knowledge— i.e., the “center of our wheel” is priority #1.
Purpose #2: Your Unique Vocation.
God has given you and I our own unique desires, skills, and talents -- our gifts.
We ought to purse these with tenacity to glory Him.
If/when you refuse the call to adventure to pursue your gifts... as St. Louie De Montfort said, "you are resisting God by not doing that for which He has created you for and is now preserving you.”
Purpose #3: Suffering
“For this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow, that you should follow in His steps.” ~ Peter 2:21
Christ left us a blueprint on how to suffer well.
Be willing to suffer for those who God entrusted to your care.
Suffering ties a man’s 3-fold purpose together.
You’re not going to be popular when you seek to know God -- and make God known. You will be persecuted. Be willing to suffer for this end.
In the pursuit of your own unique gifts… be willing to suffer for them. This is how you "fall in love with the process" by finding something worth suffering for.
But it all starts with "knowledge of" first.
Knowledge of God and His existence -- by observing the world around us and the human person -- leads us to a foundation of trust and belief.
The same is true for...
Part 2: The “Cycles of Belief”
(What it Means to Believe in Yourself)
Believing in yourself is based in integrity which is a result of a belief in God and here's why...
"The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God, will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for." CCC 27
This is the very reason man continues to search for meaning.
Because God continues to draw man to himself so he can reveal man to himself. To reveal to man the truth of his identity.
This is important because you can only love what you KNOW.
And if you don't know yourself, the truth or your identity, and the reason you're here... how can you ever love yourself?
And by consequence.
Love your wife, children, and fellow man?
The answer is...
... you can't.
A life void of meaning leads to despair and eventually suicide.
(Did you know men commit suicide 3.63 times more than women? Source. With a large number of them as a result of a failed romantic relationship. Because a man's meaning/purpose was tied to what is finite.)
This is why religion is essential.
It's man's ability to reconnect with his cause of being.
There is a God-Shaped hole in every man's heart which can only be filled BY HIM -- your cause of being and final end. Before a man can believe in himself and take aligned-action in life. A foundation of trust must be built with himself.
And this can only happen when you know who you are.
And who you are is...
A BELOVED SON OF GOD.
God is your Father and He loves you. That's your identity.
If/when you accept this reality, life changes.
Once belief in God and knowledge of self are in place … it’s all about integrity.
Integrity builds belief and trust.
Particularly trust with YOURSELF.
Here’s how it works...
The truth of your identity leads to love of self and self-trust. This creates a BELIEF about yourself. That belief about yourself (positive or negative) leads to your results.
Knowledge leads to trust.
Trust leads to Belief.
Belief leads to results.
Results build belief and solidifies knowledge.
This is the...
"Better Man Cycle of Belief"
(The BIGGER your progress, the more you come to KNOW yourself and what you’re truly capable of. Perpetuating the cycle.)
Belief in self leads to perpetual progress.
Ipso facto, you can’t build trust with yourself without knowledge of God.
The antithesis is remaining trapped in your...
"Toxic Cycle of False Belief"
Without knowledge of God, man lacks self-knowledge.
And by consequence lacks integrity, self-trust, and belief in himself to attain the goals he has set for his life.
How so?
Lack of self-knowledge leads to a lack of trust.
Lack of trust leads to a false belief about self.
The false belief about self fractures a man’s integrity.
A fractured integrity create a man's problem, crushes his belief and solidifies his lack of self-knowledge.
(e.g., "I don’t even know who I am anymore”).
And the cycle repeats.
This is your “Toxic Cycle of False Belief.”
WE ALL HAVE ONE.
And it’s leading you to your perpetual problem(s) in life.
The end result?
A lack of integrity -- as a consequence of a lack of knowledge of God and self -- breaks trust and belief in your ability to take aligned-action towards your goals.
So where do where go from here?
How to we break the Toxic Cycle of False Belief?
Step 1: Awareness - complete your daily Bucketing Work to discover the truth behind your stories and the belief you have about yourself.
Step 2: Adaptation - Craft your Response Proclamation to face your shadow.
Step 3: Aligned-Action - Write your poetry and state the aligned-action you're 100% committed to doing to attain the goals you've set for yourself to activate the "Better Man Cycle of Belief."
Drop a comment below and let me know how this lesson is sitting with you.
See you next week.
hec g.
Btw...
Did you know...
... there's a 3rd layer of belief?
Yep.
It completes what I call, the "Hierarchy of Belief."
Belief:
- In God.
- In yourself.
- Your family's belief in YOU.
Your family's belief in you is the proper effect of your belief in God (and becoming a man of integrity). When you live the Better Man Cycle of Belief -- and remain in integrity with yourself.
Your family sees this.
They know when you say you're going to do something… you do it.
When you tell your wife you're gonna take responsibility, no longer choose the path of passivity, and show up better.
When you tell her you're going to spend more time with her… and you actually do it. You build a foundation of trust with her.
Solidifying her belief in YOU.
When you tell your kids you're going to spend time with them... and you actually do it. You establish a foundation of trust with them.
Solidifying their believe in YOU.
But none of this can happen without coming to the knowledge of and believing in God first.
Belief causes you to act.
If you don’t believe... you won’t act.
Aligned-Action activate the Better Man Cycle.
Develops a foundation of trust with your family.
... and solidifies their belief in you.