Self-Examination
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
Doing an honest examination of self is a difficult thing. Every weekend at The Bridge, we attempt to lead you to this with our “So What?” moment at the close of the sermon.
I’ve learned that this is the one major barrier that keeps mature Christians from taking needed steps of growth, and keeps many long-term Christians stuck in negative thinking and behavior patterns. It’s our tendency to give ourselves a pass and not honestly assess what is happening in our hearts. It’s what David said, “He flatters himself in his own eyes” (Psalm 36:2 ESV). That’s what we tend to do.
I think for those of us who have been believers for a long time, we know we shouldn’t be thinking this way or doing these things, so we minimize or explain away the reality of our situation. We reword attitudes and actions in palatable terms so they don’t seem so bad.
This practice is rooted in the prophet Jeremiah’s words, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).
It’s why Christians live with anger, bitterness, jealousy, envy, critical spirits, lust, and animosity towards others, sometimes for decades. It happens when we minimize, excuse, deflect, or dismiss the seriousness of our sin. Until we are willing to truly admit and confess the gravity of our offense against God and other people, the destructive nature of those sins continue to wreak havoc.
Jesus offers complete healing, forgiveness, and change. We do have sick hearts that are hard to discern, but that’s also why Jesus called Himself a physician who heals.
However, that healing never comes without an accurate diagnosis. A good prognosis requires an accurate diagnosis. It takes full and complete confession for the healing power of forgiveness to have its affect. When we confess, we admit to ourselves and others the reality and weight of our actions, and the state of our hearts that led to them. We agree with God about our sin without blame-shifting, explaining, or denying. When we come to complete confession, He grants to us total forgiveness and a path to restoration.
1 John 1:9 ESV – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
That has to start with an honest self-examination: What is the state of your heart? What is God nudging you to come to terms with?
Let’s not make the mistake of giving ourselves a pass. Let’s be honest first with ourselves, and then with God and others. Freedom is waiting on the other side.