” But let a man examine himself….”1 Cor. 11:28
Self-examination is important ( see 1 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 6:3-4; 2 John 8), but it’s something most folks are afraid to do. Truth beknown we are more than suspect of what we will find. We already know all is not well in our life. Not only do we know things we would rather not think about, we are fearful of what we might discover. We are fearful because we know it is no minor matter to displease God. We sing “Search me O God”, but we are fearful of actually making that our prayer. We seem to forget that it is our duty to examine ourselves. We ought to open God’s Word and pray that the Holy Spirit would show us the things with which God is displeased. Such discoveries might not be pleasurable, but they will be profitable.
Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. While the circumstances of your life are much different than his, there is much to be said of his statement. If we hope to gain Christlikeness we must see our need and we can’t do that without self-examination. While there is an unhealthy introspection that does harm rather than good, there is a greater danger in failing to examine ourselves as we should. We must be willing to ask the hard questions about our present state. We must look at our life in the light of God’s Word. Comparing ourselves to others isn’t wise and it is more foolish to let our conscience be our guide. It is only by looking unto Jesus as He is revealed in the Scriptures that we see ourselves as we ought to be. And the moment we see our short-comings we ought to confess them to God (1 John 1:9). Then as we focus on Christ, “beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord” we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord“. ( 2 Cor. 3:18). So then, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.” (Lam. 3:40)–HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
