Should I Examine
Myself?
Let us examine our ways and test them,and let us
return to the Lord.?
Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)
An elderly man lay in a hospital with his
wife of 55 years sitting at his bedside. "Is that you, Mary, at my side
again?" he whispered.
"Yes, dear," she answered.
He softly said to her, "Remember
years ago when I was in the Veteran's Hospital? You were with me then. You were
with me when we lost everything in a fire. And Mary, when we were poor—you
stuck with me then too."
The man sighed and said, "I tell you,
Mary, you are bad luck."
Seeing faults in other people is easy, but
we may fail to notice them in ourselves, which is why taking the time to do a
little self-examination is important so that we can be at our spiritual best.
The Bible does not tell us to examine others, but does say repeatedly that we
should examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:28). Christians
who live unexamined lives are not living up to their fullest potential and are,
in fact, hindering God’s work in their lives.
God’s people were in a spiritual time out
because of their flagrant disregard for applying the Word of God to their
lives. Jeremiah repeatedly spoke in Lamentations 3 of the attitude that God’s
people should have toward their affliction during their captivity and how their
perspective should work to change their outlook toward God, which in turn would
change their relationship with God for the better.
We do not naturally move in the direction
of godliness. In fact, if we do not keep a close eye on our lives, we can begin
to drift slowly away from faithfulness and nearer to disobedience. No one sets
out to disappoint God, and no one strategizes on how to become one. But if we
avoid regular self-examination of our lives, then that is what we will become.
This is where the process of self-examination comes into play, because with
persistent and purposeful reflection of our spiritual condition, we allow God
to move us in the direction of spiritual growth and maturity.
Examining our lives is not subjective
self-analysis; rather, this is a spirit-filled analysis of our lives, centered on
the Word of God. We should begin by asking God to search our hearts and reveal
any sinfulness in our lives so we can see it, confess it, and turn from it. In
addition to looking at our sinfulness, we also want to look at our spiritual
stability. Here are some starter questions that may prove helpful as you do a
little soul searching: Am I living in obedience to the Bible? Am I submitting
to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Am I spending time with God daily? Is my
life a good reflection of my faith? Can I see positive spiritual changes in my life from year to
year? Is my thought life wholesome? Are my words uplifting? Do my actions
glorify God?
As Christians, we must regularly take time
to do some soul searching and self-examination so that we can better live a
life that is both pleasing to God and productive for the kingdom of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment