Devotions: Accurate Evaluations

 

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Romans 12:3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

Something we should do regularly is to examine ourselves, to consider our walk with God and our spiritual growth much in the same way a doctor will regularly weigh and measure a child to make sure they are healthy. When we examine ourselves, we need to make sure we do it accurately. My kids try to measure themselves periodically to show that they have grown, unfortunately, their measurements are inaccurate, inflated to make themselves look taller than they are. The only person they fool is themselves. It is the same in our estimation of ourselves. If we think more highly of ourselves than we should, we only fool ourselves because everyone else can see right through our pretenses. We need to ask God to examine us, and be willing to hear the hard truth He has to say. We need to have humility, not viewing ourselves as being better than anyone (regardless of their religious status or political beliefs) because we are only different through the grace of God. We have no reason to boast in ourselves, and to say that we are better than someone actually proves the littleness of our character. God is opposed to the proud because He can see through their self deception. He knows what we truly are, and how we compare. The standard He holds us to is not another person but to Himself. It really doesn’t matter how we compare to another person for a number of reasons. First, because the unit of measure is perfection and we all fall so short that we don’t even make it on the yard stick. Second, our human comparisons are flawed because we cannot see them completely, nor are we seeing ourselves accurately. Third, we are supposed to be humble, considering others as better than ourselves, and instead are to compare ourselves to Christ. Any comparison where we come out above is sinful and deceptive. If we seem to have greater faith or spiritual knowledge than another is not by our own merit but because that is what God has given us at this time in life. We are all in a race, but we do not all have the same starting point. Some people are given bikes or boats, others shoes or skates. We cannot compare ourselves to another person and we need to make sure that our judgment and view of ourselves is accurate, as God sees us and not as we want to see ourselves. Examination is for the purpose of change, not to inflate our egos. How do you see yourself? Do you compare yourself to others or to God? Do you allow God to examine you and are you willing to hear what He thinks?

 

 

 

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