Mountaintop Musings: The self confrontation challenge

Well after almost one month of the New Year I imagine we all have failed in several or all of our New Year’s resolutions. It is very difficult to make changes. Old habitats die hard they say! For me that is most certainly true. A key aspect of failing to make changes in how we think, act, spend money, spend time or whatever the area is that concerns us, is that we go with the flow. By that I mean we fail to take a real and honest hard look in to our own lives. We keep doing what we always do, even as we try to fool ourselves and others in to thinking we are attempting real change.

An essential, yes critical component of making changes in life is “self-confrontation”. Oh some of us love to confront others, but God-forbid we confront ourselves. By this I do not mean self-condemnation. In our world today we hear that we lack self-esteem, so that is why we struggle. Or maybe we are told we must love ourselves before we can love others. Now I must admit I like to think well of myself. I like it when others give me affirmation. But is that really Biblical? Is God more concerned with my feelings about myself or is He more concerned with how I interact and relate to others and Him?

If you spend a bit of time reading secular and Biblical history, you will find out that this idea of self-exaltation and gratification has been around since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve practiced it (Genesis 3: 1-6). The love of self was the downfall of Lucifer (Isaiah 14: 13-14). The Great Deceiver Satan used this tactic in his temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 4: 2-12). Paul warned Timothy about it in II Timothy 3: 1-5: “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, [a]haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [b]godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

The Bible says we are to examine ourselves, and have a humble heart (Matthew 23:12). Jeremiah says our heart is deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). A proper start for self-evaluation is to realize we are sinful people, separated from God and that we need to turn to Him for help (Romans 3: 10-12; 6:23). A Christian must learn to practice self-confrontation on a daily basis in order to mature in their faith, and life with God. Stagnation is unacceptable for a child of God. Failure in this arena will turn me and you in to a hypocrite. Jesus had harsh words for those who were quick to point out the short-comings of others without taking a hard look at themselves (Matthew 7: 1-5).

As a Christian I must confront myself with God’s Word and Truth as it is The Source for true change and understanding (2 Timothy 3: 16-17 and Hebrews 4:12). I also have seen those who do not profess themselves to be Christians take the principles of God’s Word and apply in their lives and find out this stuff really works. The lessons and rules for living in the Holy Bible actually work in the “real world” and not just in a “church building”. In fact they were never intended to be left a home when one goes out their front door.

Real Biblical confrontation is not easy. It will take some hard work. It may be painful and cause you to relive some hurtful times from you childhood, adolescence and adult life. It works best if you are a Christian with the Holy Spirit of God indwelling and empowering you. He will guide you in to all Truth, about God and about yourself. He will teach, convict and comfort you (John 14:16, 26; 15:11).

Biblical self-confrontation will help you evaluate whether you are living to please yourself, or please God. Jesus says that to save your life you must lose it (Matthew 16:25). Looking around the world today it seems that we could all use a little bit of this medicine!

(Dave & Lisa Carroll are area missionaries with InFaith, America’s oldest Christian home mission agency. Source material for this article comes from the Biblical Counseling Foundation. You can contact Dave at 406.459.8935 or [email protected])