[PART 5, FINALE] Fundamentals of Bible-Based Self-Improvement

Greetings my friend,

Welcome to The Arsenal, your weekly newsletter designed to train and equip you for a set apart lifestyle. 

Here we are: we’ve made it to the finale of our Fundamentals series. I hope and pray that this collection of writings as a whole has helped you gain a deeper understanding and clearer vision of the concept of being and living set-apart to Yah.

Throughout the previous parts of this series, we’ve looked at some habits that, if followed, can revolutionize and transform your life for the better. Specifically, as a final recap, we’ve looked at: 

·      The importance of starting your day off right by spending time with Yahweh first and foremost through prayer and Scripture-reading

·      A three-step process for discovering your purpose/calling and aligning yourself with the Father’s Will

And to support these two core endeavors, we’ve also looked at the supplemental habits of:

·      Several ways to treat your body as a holy temple for the Spirit to dwell in

·      Setting goals to organize and streamline your pursuit of purpose and several tools to help you do that

(If you’d like to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4 of this series, click any of the respective links to do so.)

To tie a neat little bow on all, I want you to understand something important. As you begin to notice big, positive changes in your life through application of Scripture and good habits like the ones I’ve presented to you, you’ll probably find yourself proud of how far you’ve come and what you’ve achieved. And consistently doing these things will easily lead you toward becoming part of the top 1% of people.

However, for many on self-improvement and living that type of lifestyle, there often comes a point for some where they become a little too proud of their achievements. Even followers of Yeshua are prone to this trap. As they’re reaping the blessings and fruits of their labor because of what Yah has allowed them to do through obedience to Him and honoring Him with their lifestyle, bodies, etc., these individuals may begin to credit themselves for how far they’ve come and all of the great things that are happening to them through their personal sacrifice, prayer, and hard work. 

This naturally stems into pride and thinking that they’ve unlocked the cheat code for life: And that by doing things exactly the way they did (in their minds, the definitive way), it’s the only way you achieve truly success. Because they did all the hard work and have results to prove it, so they can’t be wrong at all, right?

What’s more, their entire identity begins to revolve around their definition of success (enjoying all of the material blessings and social recognition), and when helping others, only hyper focusing on whatever you need to do to get there. Because ultimately, you’re in charge of your destiny and writing the pages of your story, right? 

Well, not exactly. Let’s dive into our final fundamental habit to practice.

Habit #5: Continuous Learning and Introspection

The truth is, pride is one of the most heavily discussed sins in all of Scripture, and there’s a good reason for that. Some examples from Scripture include the Tower of Babel, where humanity thought it could build its way to Yah through their own might and abilities, Pharoh refusing to let the Israelites go because he was the king of Egypt and had no respect for the Almighty God of the Israelites, or Goliath openly mocking Yah before the entire army of Israel because of his confidence in his physical height and prowess in battle. And in all of these situations, Yahweh struck down their endeavors, and it cost some their lives too.

But probably the most practical example of the harmful mentality of pride is the original sin in the Garden, where Eve was manipulated into believing she was worthy of becoming as knowledgeable as Yah Himself. Almost as if she were trying to become her own god through the knowledge she would receive.

In many ways, Eve’s mentality (or what I like to call, the Serpent’s Mentality) is the same one that some of us may develop as motivation for trying to improve our lives: While we may start off on the right footing, the idea of going against the stream and leveling up in a constantly distracted and unmotivated world can create the perfect environment for the Enemy to slip in and start twisting that concept. It can create a superiority complex within us, and that in turn can cause us to pursue material glory and status as a way to maintain that prideful perception of ourselves we want others to take notice of. This is quite contrary to the original goal, which is to advance Yah’s Kingdom and what He wants us to do in that process, not focusing on building our own empire dedicated solely to our personal enjoyment. 

What’s worse, if we do have others notice our successful lifestyle and ask us how we did it and how they can achieve it themselves, our pride can cause us to miss valuable opportunities to witness to others. Our lives should be a testament to the goodness, faithfulness, and grace of Yah and what His Son Yeshua has done for us. But if we tell others our success and achievements came through everything we did and everything we had to endure to get there, it fails to give glory back to the Almighty, who gracefully allowed you to even wake up that day in the first place, let alone reach your goals in life. 

As a great reminder of how we should be a living witness, Paul writes:

It's interesting to note the metaphor of “the god of this age” when applying this passage’s concepts to today. It could easily represent the material wealth and social status this generation so desperately desires. Or perhaps, more broadly, that god we worship could easily be ourselves…Our society today is very heavily self-centered and idolizes celebrities, influencers, and even certain politicians every single day. I think it plays perfectly in the pride trap of thinking everything you’ve gained and accomplished is solely through your own hard work and striving for the success of our country’s celebrities and luxurious lifestyles as our goal. 

As Paul wrote to church of Rome:

Additionally, Yeshua also tells us not to make pursuing after these kinds of worldly things our sole endeavor, as it is written,

Boom. That’s the key, folks. You must ask yourself: Where is your treasure? Is it in worshipping the god of this age, social status and material wealth? And through your worship of that god, both privately and publicly, are you veiling yourself and others from the gospel of Yeshua? Finally, are we taking the time to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through Yeshua so that we can prove how great and mighty our God really is to the everyone who inquires of us, rather than worshipping our works as our god?

As King Solomon wrote: 

And finally, as Yah Himself commanded:

So, what can we do to make sure we’re remaining humble and not letting pride take over our mindset and veil the light of the gospel? There are a few key things you should recognize:

#1 Your works are only one side of a three-dimensional shape – Picture this for a moment. Imagine you’re holding a fully solved Rubik’s Cube in your hand. If you look straight at the cube from one side so all you see is the blue-colored side for example, would you say you have an accurate representation of the entire cube’s shape and all its colors? Of course not! You’re only viewing it from one angle, and because of that, you can’t see the rest of the cube’s shape and colors. Let’s also say this Rubik’s Cube represents your life and how others view your life, and each of the cube’s six sides represent different contributing factors to your success story, including your achievements/hard work, your self-discipline/routine, your material blessings, your social status, your spiritual gifts, and your testimonies of how Yeshua’s made a difference in your life to name some examples.

Now, let’s return to the concept of “writing the pages of your own story.” The whole point of writing a story is for others to read, right? Because of this, you must be careful that when others read the life story you present to them, they’re not seeing only one side of that Rubik’s Cube you choose to show them, whether it be your works, your social status, or your material blessings as examples. By doing this, they’re not getting the whole story of how you got to where you are. I challenge you, show how them every side of that cube, including how Yah works behind the scenes through your spiritual gifts and testimonies of His goodness in your life so people can understand that true success, purpose, and fulfillment comes from following Yeshua and His ways. Because doing the works of what we’re called to do is only part of the equation in creating the lifestyle and success many so proudly boast about because of those works.

If you call yourself a true follower of Messiah, give Him the glory where it’s due!! Especially publicly to help spread the Good News.

#2 Never think you have it all figured out – As much as we love to be the smartest one in the room, your exact way of doing things isn’t always the definitive path to success. And over the course of our life, we never stop learning. As Proverbs says: 

This idea is also supported by Paul:

These Scripture passages imply that our knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of life and the world around us truly comes from Yah, and that by acknowledging Him in our path to achieving true purpose and success, as we just discussed, we need to be letting Him teach us the way to go in all our ways and keep an open mind and heart in that process.

However, don’t get it twisted, my friend. Pursuit of knowledge in of itself is never a bad thing, and a desire for wisdom and instruction is a great thing we should chase after to become the best version of ourselves and reach our full potential to answer Yeshua’s call for us to follow Him. When it comes to reading books, attending seminars/conferences, watching video content, or however you choose to learn whatever is important to you for your success and happiness, I absolutely encourage you to do so for your own benefit, especially if it relates to your higher calling. And passing along the knowledge you learned to inspire others when sharing your life story or otherwise is another benefit of that too.

But always remember: Even if you’re correct about certain things, and even if your lifestyle, advice, and recommendations you share with others are of tremendous value, always note that your opinions are always somewhat subjective, and may not work for everyone. Like the Rubik’s Cube analogy, there are always sides to other people we may never see, and based on that, replicating your lifestyle and your path to success may not always be directly or fully applicable to them. And that’s ok. Yah has His own plan for everyone’s lives, and even if they don’t align with what you’ve learned, accomplished, and overcome, honor and respect that in how you live your life and in your interactions with other people.

#3 Pride comes before a fall – To sum up everything that’s been said, and if it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, do everything you can to check yourself and kick pride from your life my friend. Returning to the examples from Scripture mentioned earlier, all of them ended in disaster one way or another. And there’s a core principle we can learn from that:

Some other Scripture is related to this idea too:

I’ll let these Scriptures (and others) speak for themselves on this matter. And I’ll leave you with an important question:

Whom do you truly serve?

Are you taking advantage of the blessings Yah has given you to serve the beforementioned “god of this age”? Do you really think you’re gaining everything you are solely through what you’ve accomplished? Or are you remembering and serving the God of Israel, who granted you forgiveness of your pride you through His Son Yeshua so long as you repent, and also desires a relationship with you and to empower you through the Spirit? 

If you’re truly seeking to create the best version of yourself and also live for Him, whether that’s through the habits I’ve humbly presented to you or something similar, your answer should be obvious:

Thank you for sticking with me this far, dear reader. I continually pray that you would choose Yahweh each and every day through the way you speak, live, and act around others. And as you continue to level up in this life, don’t forget Him and all that He’s done for you personally and corporately through His Son. For as it is written,

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” ~ Romans 11:36

Be blessed.