A good friend recently shared a convicting word on how Christians can thrive in one area of their lives, while other areas are depraved and ‘vestigial’ – just like a plant that has been getting sunshine on only one side, the leaves on the unexposed part die. Spiritual death and spiritual depression in certain parts of life has been my reality. For example, I had not known beauty in a holistic and complete sense. When I learnt of prominent collarbones as a sought-after beauty feature and the absence of hip dips as preferable, I was unsettled. Mainly because, it was an immaculate reflection of how wrong I was getting it myself. I believe my own minute-to-minute measurement and examination of self have sometimes fuelled spiritual slumps in my life. Simply put, I am self-absorbed. More so, I spiritualize my self-absorption in the name of self-awareness. Pride and fear often inspires and impels my introspection. As a result, I invest in fighting sins that affect how others view me and often do well in areas of holiness that have high visible accountability, while I am more lax with sins and disciplines that occur in secret. Hyper-introspection - Ingrowth The type of self-examination I employ leads to no real growth; instead, it leads to encysted ingrowth. It is the unproductive and harmful kind. It often leads to guilt, self-mutilation and despair. It promises clarification and purification but it is deceitful and morbid. I have been holding a mirror up to myself in a dark room, perverting thoughts of myself. I have not allowed God’s divine light to be the one hitting my mirror. Self-examination as a duty The bible reminds us in Lamentations 3:40 that we have a duty of introspection – we ought to examine our ways and test them. However, by employing the spirit and the word of God, the process of self-examination should help us return to the Lord. It should be founded on the knowledge that we are depraved creatures, who are granted Christ’s perfect righteousness. Otherwise, our self-assessment is perverted and harmful. Otherwise, we run the risk of detracting our faith. Self-examination as a true measure and a renewal We should relate to self-assessment as a measure of not only our compliance to Christ’s teachings but also as a measure of internal transformation and restoration, we constantly undergo. Should we discover inadequacy, apathy or complacency, healthy introspection should lead us to repentance, gratitude for God’s abounding grace and worship. With one look at ourselves, we should take many more looks to Christ because the sight of Christ brings renewal.
1 Comment
Nthabiseng Dube
8/2/2019 08:11:05
“With one look at ourselves, we should take many more looks to Christ”. Absolutely! 🙌🏽 Thank you for this post. So refreshing and thought provoking.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Rea Zwane"I am just trying to live it up with a big God" Archives
April 2022
Categories |