The Power of Self Evaluation

I recently suffered two injuries that prompted me to assess the status of my health and vitality. First, I hurt the knuckles of one of my hands by pounding them into my other hand, and secondly, I strained a hamstring muscle trying to accelerate while running. These developments presented me with a paradoxical question -- Is it possible to feel young, strong and athletic without being so?  Some might say “Yes, because you are at that age when your body can no longer do what it once could.”  Sounds feasible, but isn’t it also possible that I now punch with greater force and accelerate with greater velocity than I did when I was younger? My injuries could be due to age, for sure, but they could also be due an increase in physical prowess that has surpassed the limits of my skeletal frame!  The only way to know is honest self-evaluation.

The Apostle Paul warned us to examine ourselves before we observe the Lord’s Supper ( I Cor 11:27-28) because we can become insensitive to how far we have drifted from the Scriptural standard of godly living.  James told us to take stock of our lives by looking into the perfect law of liberty to make sure that we are doers of the Word and not just hearers (James 1:25). He added that we should avoid envy and selfishness if we do not want to be lying against the truth (James 3:12). If we try to excuse ourselves by blaming our sin on exterior forces we are just deceiving ourselves (James 1:14-16). John taught that those who think they have not sinned are in self-delusion (I John 1:8).   Peter exhorted us to develop virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love so that we don’t blind ourselves to our own sins (II Peter 1:5-9).

Why would anyone lie to himself? Where is the profit in self-deception?  In reality, there is no good reason to lie to oneself, and there are no lasting benefits, but in the virtual world of self-esteem and self-fulfillment there are powerful feelings that accompany dishonest self-evaluation. Feelings of guilt diminish, the sense of accomplishment inflates, and the emotions of well-being are enhanced. The problem is that when we are not honest with ourselves, we are of little value to others. This is why Paul writes in Galatians 6:1-3, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Thankfully, access to healthy self-examination and repentance is available to all believers regardless of the level of proficiency we may or may not have in living the Christian life.  The writer of Hebrews tells us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  There may be no greater “time of need” than when one realizes his/her true limitations or inconsistencies. It is in those moments or realization that we become starkly aware that it is God who “works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure: and that we stand strong only by the grace of God.

Standing strong in God’s grace requires honesty.  Honesty with God, honesty with others, and honesty with ourselves. When we see ourselves accurately we have a better vision of God … and vice versa.

Psalm 19:12-14

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins … Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.