Self-actualized or God-actualized?

This is how we know we are in God: Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did.
1 John 2:6

Most of my life growing-up was an effort to be filled with the richness of life: knowledge, truth, power, prestige, and honor. I was on a pursuit to possess what knowledge, truth, and power would bring me. I was taught that these are what would complete me as a person. The goal was to fill my life with each of these so that I would self-actualize. It seemed that the more of these that I possessed the more my life would be complete. What I learned was that as I filled myself with knowledge and as I became increasing more successful in my career that I wasn’t necessarily on the journey to self-actualization but I was only on the journey to having my safety and security needs met. I know many people who are attempting to self-actualize only by having their security needs met. The quest for power, property, and prestige would never lead me to the place of self-actualization, but only a false sense of safety and security. While knowledge can be power—the illusion that knowledge or power can save me is foolishness. The same thing can happen with the spiritual life-- knowledge of God or theology doesn't help one be "in God"-- to be "in God" requires emptying oneself of ego. I emphasized filling myself with knowledge and truth so that I could self-actualize when in reality all I was doing was having my ego needs for security and safety met. If I wanted real life I needed to move beyond my safety and security pursuits.

To know that I am in God is to walk as Jesus walked. The key characteristic of Jesus’ life is one of self-emptying. To walk as Jesus walked is to empty myself, not so much of my power as a person, but of the need to attempt to use my power to save me; to let go of my need to use my possessions to make me complete. To empty myself of the false notion that more knowledge will make me secure. None of these are bad or corrupt in and of themselves-- what corrupts possessions, money, and knowledge is the false belief that I can self-actualize and be complete as a person through these—to be God-like.

If I depend on my power, property, and prestige to fill my life I won’t have to depend on God. The only reason I don’t depend on God is because I am afraid to trust God to be God, so like Adam and Eve I reach for the fruit. The lie that if I can possess the fruit that I can possess life. It wasn’t through knowledge, power, property, and prestige that Jesus self-actualized and became one with God, it was through emptying himself. My attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing. Make myself nothing? The only way I can make myself "nothing" is to know who I am-- to know that my deepest DNA is God and that I belong to God. Jesus emptied himself and in doing so, God demonstrates the way to true life—life poured out; life lived in the spirit.

If I want to be "live in God"-- that is have life in God, I must walk as Jesus walked—empty of self and the illusions that my knowledge and power can complete me. The only way to become complete is to empty of self in order that I can be filled with God… God actualized.