‘Now Vicky,
you sit there in that corner and think about what you’ve done.’ I can’t really remember being told that, but
it probably happened. For certain, I’ve
seen it on tv shows and I wonder to myself why the kids don’t get right back up
and say, ‘Okay, I’ve thought about it!’
Self assessment is not a comfortable thing for us to do at any age. Who wants to look in the mirror and see
themselves for who they really are? It’s
bad enough the unwanted hair, the permanent wrinkle lines and the chub that
never used to be there, but then there are all those internal flaws to
consider.
I thought on my ways,
and turned my feet to Your testimonies. Ps. 119:59
But I don’t
wanna think: of how selfish I’ve
been with my time, how many times I’ve lost my temper, the money I’ve wasted
while others can’t pay basic bills, of the days I’ve ignored my Lord, and the
times I’ve disappointed others by my actions, or even myself, not to mention
the times I didn’t do what God wanted me to.
No one wants to dwell on their failings, and quite frankly, I don’t
think we should (dwell means to reside or stay in them) because the Bible says
to think on things that are right, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praise
worthy (Php. 4:8), right?
Actually,
there are two words I purposely omitted from that verse (did you catch it?)-
true and honest. While honest can also
mean honourable, true is just that- the truth.
So we are supposed to think on what is true, and that includes our
failings. If we never consider them, how
can we decide to improve? Yes, God can
help us change, but we are supposed to do our part. Notice, David turned his own feet; he didn’t
wait for God to turn them.
Check out the verbs: flee (2Tm. 2:22), resist (Jm. 4:7), repent (Ac. 17:30), forgive (Ep. 4:32),
humble self / seek / pray / turn (2Ch. 7:14),
deny yourself (Lk. 9:23), confess
(1Jh. 1:9), put off (Ep. 4:22). These are just some of the many action words
God wants us to do.
David contemplated his ways, decided they
needed changing and then changed. Is
there any value in assessing our ways?
Successful businesses do it often to see how they can improve and it
helps. You can’t improve upon something
without knowing it’s a problem first. Perhaps
if we took some time every week to ponder our ways, we can decide if any
changes are needed to improve our walk, our relationships, our health, our
being. Jesus came to bring salvation and
to show us a better way to live. It doesn’t
do any good if we just ignore the things He said.
We need to
think. We need to change. We need to move toward God and godliness.
No, wait…
I need to…