SELF-INVESTIGATION

SELF-INVESTIGATION 08/23/13 BY Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman 2 Corinthians 13:5  “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” Any thing can be misused or abused, by anyone, even by one's own self. That is no reason to fear, to avoid, nor to resent that thing, reflexively, automatically. Without one's own rigorous, faithful investigation, one can never know the truth for oneself. “Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is sure!” Everything first must be tested, proven, and assayed by you, in its own right, and light, not in that of another. That “thing” might be a substance, a government, a creed, a deed, an implement, an animal, a plant, a teaching, a person or a people. That “thing” might also be “you.” You must be its metric. Of course, “you” may now be, or “you” may once have been, either consciously or subconsciously, ostracized, vilified or nullified, by others; or by your own indolent inertia, i.e. “apathy.” Consequently, you may not now perceive, nor believe, yourself to be a sufficiently reliable metric. So, you may have too quickly ceded that most important of duties to others, who are no better than yourselves! Check yourself before you wreck yourself! You misuse and abuse yourselves by not examining yourselves, as Jesus Christ examined himself, in the wilderness subject to doubt and to temptation. Whether you are a self-abuser, a self-misuser, or an abuser or misuser of others, candid self-investigation will reveal that to you in your spirit in due time. From such rigorous self-investigation will arise a proven metric, and a proven methodology, that you will find to be equally applicable to all other persons, and to all other things. That is simply because it will be rooted in you and your God-given metric, which is your truth, as revealed by your own rigorous self-investigation! Your metric and methodology both irrupt within you, revealed by the Holy Spirit. Rejoice and be glad! Read the entire Bible, study science and mathematics; read classic literature; construct useful things; cultivate food and beauty; meditate, pray, have faith, work daily, create music and art, etc. These activities promote the self-examination and fulfillment, requisite to joy, peace, and love of self and all. #30