All my pondering often leads to introspection. I am constantly evaluating my life.
One of my goals is to live as consistently as possible. I am always examining my thoughts and my actions to see if they line up with what I claim to believe.
This is both good and bad.
On the one hand, it helps me to live with integrity, which is a key part of following Jesus.
On the other hand, it puts a lot of pressure on me, because I can see all the areas where I fall short of my ideals.
When it comes to following Jesus it is good to spend time evaluating the condition of our hearts and the way we live.
The apostle Paul wrote:
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (Romans 12:3; NLT)
Paul taught that we need to have the proper understanding of who we are.
This requires that we take time to honestly evaluate ourselves. The warning Paul gave is that we don't think of ourselves better than we are. We shouldn't put a positive spin on things, rather we accept our strengths and victories as we admit to our weakness and failures.
For a healthy life we need to do both. We need value the positive things and confess the negative things.
Too often people fail to examine their lives and ask the tough questions. They try to keep the status quo and not rock the boat, and the result is that they remain stunted in their maturity. Some of our most profound times of growth occur when we take stock of our lives and begin the hard work of making the appropriate changes.
What is true on a personal level is also true on a group level.
What is true on a personal level is also true on a group level.
Churches stagnate and die because the members don't want to take time and to face reality. The crisis the Church in the United States is facing right now is, in part, due to the reality that we have wanted to keep the status quo rather than seeking ways to connect with people living in a post-Christian internet age.
This failure to honestly examine things is also true in the nation as a whole. We can talk about a health care crisis or a financial crisis, but we never ask the tough questions that need to be asked that help us understand the root of these crises. We don't want to know what truly caused the problem, we just want the government to make it go away.
My point in all of this is to remind us that as long as we are dealing with superficial issues we will continue to miss the core problem. Whether it is in our personal lives, in our churches, or in our nation, we need to look beyond the superficial and examine what really matters.
This failure to honestly examine things is also true in the nation as a whole. We can talk about a health care crisis or a financial crisis, but we never ask the tough questions that need to be asked that help us understand the root of these crises. We don't want to know what truly caused the problem, we just want the government to make it go away.
My point in all of this is to remind us that as long as we are dealing with superficial issues we will continue to miss the core problem. Whether it is in our personal lives, in our churches, or in our nation, we need to look beyond the superficial and examine what really matters.
While this is harder to do in the short term it will pay huge benefits in the long run. Effective solutions are those that actually deal with root problem. By not addressing the real issue, we are just wasting time doing things that ultimately will not matter.
We need to face reality if we hope to become the people, the church, or the country God created us to be.
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