Learning from Socrates and Jesus
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ”
Socrates and his intellectual progeny influenced early Christianity. As the Jewish sect, later called Christianity, expanded to areas further influenced by Greek thought, they found similarities between Socratic thought and Jesus’ wisdom. In his book Think Like Socrates, Steven Schuster shares, “It’s important that you take Socrates’ advice and discover who you are on the inside. Examine your inner world and your values. This will be the start of a lifelong journey of self-discovery.”
Socrates requires us to ask how to perform self-discovery and why. Christianity has much to learn from the Socratic method and how to perform self-discovery. Socrates focused on knowledge, which inspired virtue, which produced happiness. Thousands of volumes have been written on Socrates's how from ancient times to the present. I want to address in this devotion why God calls us to “a lifelong journey of self-discovery.” For the person of faith in our Triune God, knowledge comes from God and our seeking to know God. Virtue comes from God, found in Scripture and the movement of the Holy Spirit, guiding our lives. Happiness is knowledge and Virtue lived in the “lifelong journey of self-discovery;” a discovery of self found in union with God.
Today, reflect on your own self-understanding. What knowledge are you seeking that creates a more meaningful understanding of God’s relationship with you and the world around you? Next, how is your blossoming knowledge defining your divinely inspired virtue? Finally, how has God’s knowledge and virtue led to eternal happiness? How is divinely inspired happiness different from the cheap happiness our society offers? As you spend time answering these questions, God will inspire you to answer the eternal why. Then, your life will have meaning, and you will glimpse God’s light and intention for the world.
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