June 6, 2023

Taylor Christensen
"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."
Romans 12:3 NIV
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Matthew 7:1-5 NIV

Self-awareness is so hard to master in a world with ample opportunities nowadays to hide from reality, mask imperfections, and curate only our best and brightest moments to share with the world. My ego runs rampant without gracious friends, mentors, and my Community Group speaking into my life, revealing blind spots and areas of weakness I choose to avoid or pretend don’t exist. I’ve seen this especially needed when it comes to friend or family relationships where things can be so fluid, so tricky, and so consequential if I let my pride and judgmental attitude get the best of me. My flesh wants to be right all the time, and without God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, and the community around me, my pride would leave out room for much-needed repentance, humility, and correction.

Lord, humble me and grow my sense of self-awareness. May I hunger and thirst for righteousness, not just to always be right. Please help me seek to satisfy Your desires, not my own.