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Making a List for Self-Reflection


You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
“This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
-Matthew 15:7-9


As I was listening to this chapter of Matthew while driving, this particular prophecy recounted by Jesus stuck out to me. I thought to myself, do I do this? Of course, I’m sure I do, but do I simply not see in what ways I am being hypocritical and talking the talk, yet not walking the walk? I’ve written posts in the past about looking back on your day and asking yourself if people would be able to recognize that you are Christian, but today I had a thought that may make this type of self-reflection easier for some, or at least more productive for recognizing areas that need growth – a list.

Maybe it’s a girl thing, but I love lists. Whether it’s a wish list, a pros and cons list, or a packing list, they help a person recognize needs, wants, can help with decision making, and help one to not forget things. For the list I have in mind, it is probably most related to a pros and cons list. It is a list of ways that I am pleasing God vs. ways I am displeasing God. Below I will give a sample of items that could be on this list.

Pleasing to God                                                         Displeasing to God
Genuine concern for others                                           Fake concern for others
Going to church w/heart of worship                             Begrudgingly going to church
Teaching children to pray                                             Getting angry with kids (not righteous anger)
Generosity                                                                     Pet sins
Volunteer work                                                              Disrespecting spouse
Showing kindness and patience                                    Cursing at/calling other drivers names
Praying for enemies                                                      Cursing enemies
Sharing the Gospel                                                        Saying you’ll pray and not doing it

You get the idea. It can definitely be more specific, like, “ I yelled at my kids when they purposely spilled the milk rather than calmly explaining that making a mess on purpose is disrespectful to mommy and they need to respect me.” Or for the good side, “I chatted with the clerk who checked out my groceries and expressed genuine hope that she have a good weekend and start feeling better from the allergy symptoms she is suffering.”

I’m sure there are many actions and attitudes that don’t necessarily fit onto this list either, like sock color, hair up or down, tent camping or hotel, feeling sad and tired, etc. It is all dependent on circumstance, but you know yourself and this just seemed in my head like an interesting tool to use to reveal things about yourself that you could be trying to hide from yourself.

I hope that this is a blessing. Please give me your feedback and let me and other readers know what you do to help reveal areas in your life that need improvement. Our sinful nature wants to hold onto those things so much, but the Holy Spirit wants to reveal them and transform us. Let’s work on transforming into the people God intends us to be.

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