It seems our one quest in life, that is inevitable, is to find out who we really are. In fact many of you who are on this website are here for that very reason. All thru life it seems people are always trying to tell us who we are. I was in the book store the other day, which is one of my favorite places to go. It is right up there with office supply, and hardware stores, (real ones) you can tell by the way they smell. I always go to the bargain book section first. I glanced down and there was one book I saw, “101 Personality Tests To Tell You Who You Really Are”. I became curious so I went over to the self-help section and began to look for self-discovery books. There were well over 100. Most teenagers go through a rebellious stage. They want to stop identifying with family and be their own self. However, with out the right training they can get into serious trouble trying to do this with just the help of their peers. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Notice it does not say train up a child in the way you think he should go.
People always seem to take it upon themselves to want to tell us what we should do or whom we should become. Let’s look at the original pirates for a minute. They were gang pressed by the British Navy. Usually they would get the men drunk to unconscious and then bring them aboard and set sail before they came to. Or they would go to the poor & oppressed and gather the men by force and take them aboard. A great percentage of these men were Irish. Once aboard the were essentially treated like slaves. Oh, they were paid, but it all went to pay for their uniforms, guns, meals, etc. They had to work to get their freedom back. They were given the hardest work and the least food. They were brutally beaten with the Cat of Nine Tails, or in some cases Keel Hauled. All the while, being drilled into their heads they were nothing. Not even worth the ground they walked on, or in their case the sea they sailed on. What was it that made them realize they were made for more than this. They certainly didn’t have bookstores to run to, or classes to take to tell them what they were meant to do. Or a Leader who stood up and said we need to do this. No, it was something coming from the inside. They began sharing and talking. They decided as a group to take over the ship, to mutiny. They killed no one. The rest of the crew was allowed to join them or leave in life boats with minimal food and water. They didn’t use cruelty. They knew from the inside that was wrong. They knew how they had been treated was wrong. They wanted Freedom. The ability to make choices. I believe we call that free will. They realized a ship needed a captain so they voted on one. If he didn’t turn out to be a good one, by consensus he was ask to step down, and a new one was voted in. What ever treasure or food or anything that was obtained for the ship was to be divided equally among the shipmates. However, the captain and first mate, quartermaster, doctor, and carpenter would receive a certain percentage higher as to what they they voted on. This is one of the ways democracy was started. This came from within, from the heart. They knew it was right. Most of the ships they overcame were British. Some were Spanish. They freed their fellowmen who were being held. They gave them the same choices. Join us or leave. That is what has intrigued me about the early pirates of the golden age of sailing. Yes, today they have a very bad rap and rightly so. However in the beginning there was a legitimate reason. What is it that makes us afraid to listen to that still small voice in our own heart? Why would we rather listen to someone else tell us? Why would we rather read about someone else’s life? There can be numerous answers. Think about that for awhile. Try and find some quiet and “Ask who am I?” and then listen. You may not hear it at first. Keep trying. give it 5 minutes a day. It will come! You will learn to recognize that voice. All the answers are within.
Sometimes we are fortunate enough to find out who we are when we are growing up. Sometimes early in life, others later in life. The time does not matter. What matters is you find it. Those answers are within us. It’s never ever to late. My hope is we can help you start liberating that treasure.
Maggie