3. Besides my real self (the person I really am) I also have a pretend self (the person I imagine myself to be at times), and my true self, (the person I was created to be).

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)

ARE THERE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF YOU WOULD CHANGE IF YOU COULD?

DO YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF PRETENDING, PUTTING ON A FACE THAT ISN’T TRUE?

ARE THERE TIMES WHEN YOU FEEL ALIVE AND HAVE THE FREEDOM TO BE FULLY YOU?

What is a “self”? Philosophers and psychologists give us many descriptions of the concept of a “self”; it is the essence of who we are, the person we are apart from our physical body; it is our character, emotions, desires, and tendencies, the way we relate to others and even our own opinions about ourselves. When we think about our “self,” we can notice that there is more than just my “self.” In reality, we have just one “self,” and this is the self that we really are, our “real self.”

But we also have a “self” that we invent at times for different reasons: to protect myself from something or someone I am afraid of, to cause a person to think better of me than they might otherwise, or to dull the pain I feel about my real self. We can call this self, my “pretend self.” What is true about our real self is that there are many flaws and deficiencies, things about us we wish were different. Becoming aware of these deficiencies can cause us to create a pretend self, a self we wish we were.

What both selves show us is that there is another self we long for and wish we could be without pretending. We can call this our “true self.” Our true self is the person we would be if we had no flaws or brokenness. It’s the person we were created to be, the unfulfilled potential we represent, and the person whom God longs for us to become. Self-awareness, especially a Spirit-infused self-awareness, helps us see our real self; it helps us give up our pretend self and embrace our real self, broken as it is.

But this Spirit-guided self-awareness also helps us imagine the person we could become, our true self, the “me I want to be” or better said, the “me I was meant to be.” In our broken real self, we are incapable of seeing the true self that God created us to be. Even our pretend self is not our true self. We need help to see the true self we could become. God’s Spirit is this Helper for us.