Proverbs 14.8
“The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.”
Proverbs 14.12
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Proverbs 14.15-16
“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”
In addition to situational awareness, having discernment means being self-aware … that is, seeing yourself clearly.
Self-awareness is hard work. Very hard work. It is not something that happens automatically because you are a Christian. The book of Proverbs is quite clear that developing any form of godly wisdom or skill is the result of trusting God, knowing his Word, and doing disciplined work. This is certainly true with regard to discernment and self-awareness.
Self-awareness for the Christian begins by understanding four very unique things about yourself.
-
You are special because you are created by God in His image.
-
You are separated and alienated from God because of sin.
-
God calls you to himself and offers you forgiveness and reconciliation through Christ’s sacrificial death.
-
God sends you into the world to be an agent of His kingdom in your time and place in human history. You are an ambassador for Christ.
Think very deeply about those four things and what they mean for your everyday life and work.
Self-awareness also means having discernment about what is happening within you. It is the ability to monitor your inner world of thoughts and feelings, and to understand how your thoughts and feelings affect what you say and do. It means recognizing and rejecting the deceitful passions and impulses of the old nature (see Ephesians 4.22-24).
Self-awareness includes knowing your strengths and weaknesses. It is understanding and being a good steward of the spiritual gifts that God has given you.
Here is what the book of Romans says about self-awareness: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12.4-5)
Note well the command to think about yourself with sober judgment. In other words, be diligent and disciplined in your self-reflection and awareness. Invest the time and do the work to know your strengths and spiritual gifts, and then use those gifts wisely on behalf of the body of Christ.
In order to be self-aware, it is necessary to get candid feedback. Without feedback, self-awareness won’t happen. As we said yesterday, we all have blind spots, and we all need a “noticer and truth-teller” in our life. That is, we need someone to pay attention to how we live and work, and then give us candid feedback about what they see.
The foolish person lacks self-awareness. He does not see himself clearly. He does not think of himself with sober judgment; rather, he has an “intoxicated” view of himself. His discernment is seriously impaired.
The foolish person does not want to self-evaluate. He does not want candid feedback. When he does get feedback, he gets defensive and dismissive. Because of that arrogant mindset, he gets stuck in his foolishness. Proverbs 12:1 says it very directly: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”
How important is self-awareness? Here is what Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.” (2 Corinthians 5.16-17)
Again, self-awareness is hard work. Very hard work. It takes relentless faith and courageous reflection and assessment. Trust God and do the work.
