Self-Evaluation

My quiet times have been very sweet lately. God's been teaching me things through my reading the bible that I've never gotten before. Study bibles are da bomb - as is the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

One passage that I've been spending a long time on has been Romans 12:9-21. It's basically a rapid-fire list of dos-and-don'ts. Some may take it as a bunch of rules to be followed. But it's intent is to help us see our sin and turn from it to pleasing God.

If you haven't really taken a good look at yourself lately, I'd recommend this passage for evaluating yourself. Take each of the commands and turn it into a question. I'll give an example. Verse 11 reads "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." Based on this, I asked myself "When am I most tempted to be slothful in my zeal for God?" I came up with three main circumstances:

1. When I'm discontent with my circumstances
2. When I don't seem change
3. When I don't see immediate reward or pay-off

When I'm complaining about having to work and not being able to be a full time wife and homemaker, I'm not as zealous in my gratitude to God for what I do have. When that person I've been praying for for years shows no signs of putting their faith in Christ, I'm not as zealous in my prayers for them. When I don't see how I'm rewarded immediately for being kind to an irritating, unsaved person, I'm not as zealous to persist in kindess and showcase the difference the Gospel can make in a person's life.

See how much sin I identified just with that one question?

Give it a try. Here's the rest of the passage:

9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. 17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Once you have your list, pray for each area of sin you identify, that God will give you grace to overcome it to His glory.

Oh, and take it in little bits =) Don't try to change everything all at once. We can't eat our whole plate of food at once, neither can we mortify all our sin at once. Take it bite by bite.