In my sermon on New Year's Eve I mentioned that A.W. Tozer had suggested some great area in which we should evaluate to reveal the state of our hearts. Being honest in this exercise should open our eyes to area where we need to repent of our lack of love for and dependence upon Christ. This is a great exercise for the start of a new year (and everyday):
A.W. Tozer suggests that we evaluate ourselves in the following areas:
- what we want most
- what we think about most
- how we use our money
- what we do with our leisure time
- the company we enjoy (fellowship/evangelism)
- whom and what we admire
- what we laugh at (do we laugh at all?)
2 comments:
The areas in question are worth evaluating, but I'm curious how you believe scripture applies to us in those areas. What should Christians do in those areas? How can they know if change is needed and, if so, what the new life should look like. Good thoughts, though. Tozer's right on this one.
In all of these areas, if we are honest, we would see what we love the most in our lives. That is, what are our priorities. The two greatest commands are to love God and love people. I think that honesty about these areas would reveal how well we are keeping those commands. In the first few, I think that we can know that chane is needed if we find that we are thinking little or none about the beauty of Christ as revealed in the Gospel.
Further down the list, I think that it is important that we are building good relationships with both Christians and non-Christians, seeing that we are commanded to be active in fellowship and evangelism.
Do we admire things that are good, holy, lovely...?
The issue of laughing is probably the most interesting one for me to think about, b/c that is an area where I fail to evaluate myself naturally. I need to be careful to not take joy in the shame or embarrassment or misfortune of others. I need to be careful to not laugh at things which are crude or which cause me to sin or to make light of sin. An important question for many Christians I know is: do you laugh at anything? I think that we should find joy in life and that laughter is healthy as it reveals a heart that is happy and free. Many Christians seem to be afraid to enjoy life - like anything that is enjoyable must be sinful. How tragic!
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