Check Your Self-ie
Do you ever edit the photos you are tagged in on social media? I do it more than I’d like to admit. I wish that I didn’t care when an unflattering photo of me pops up, but I do. I suppose most of us monitor our images on social media with the diligence of a New York Times editor.
The bible says that you should: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?” 2 Corinthians 13:5
It’s not a bad thing to evaluate yourself, but God is concerned with the nature of your heart not your external appearance. (1 Samuel 16:7)
In Isaiah chapter 58, God became angry with Israel in their discipline of fasting. As God points out, the people denied themselves from food and humbled themselves in sackcloth, but their hearts lacked compassion for one another. They ignored the needs of their poor neighbors and their days of fasting ended with quarreling and fist fights. They stayed diligent with the spiritual discipline but their hearts were in the wrong place. The pharisees had the external appearance of holiness but their hearts were so far from God that Jesus called them “white washed tombs”.
What would God say about the nature of your heart today? Does He see unconditional love toward those who have legitimately hurt you? Does He see a compassion for the lost and the needy that is producing action? Does He see a humility that desires to see God glorified over our own self promotion?
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
Blessings!
Pastor Jonathan
