10 Things You Need to Know About Yourself
“Know thyself.” This simple little phrase was spoken by 11 different Greek sages, including Socrates.
“Keep watch over yourself.” This was spoken by Paul the apostle to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28).
Here are 10 things I monitor on my internal “dashboard”:
1. My appetite for God.
I want my love for the Bible, private prayer, and corporate worship to remain fresh, intimate, and exciting. When my devotional life becomes a duty and not a delight, I will shut everything else down until His presence returns.
2. My suspicion of others.
I don’t want to be like Saul who “eyed David” as his biggest competitor. I want to celebrate the success of others and not constantly examine their motives related to me.
3. My love for my spouse.
I want to crave hours and days alone with my wife. I want to be so overwhelmed with her beauty, character, and personality that a sexual temptation seems idiotic.
4. My motivation for life.
I want my “inner dialogue” to be positive, hopeful, and joyful. I want to look forward to each day as part of a grand plan God has to use me. I don’t want others to have to motivate me. I want to be self-motivated out of passion.
5. My attitude about success.
I want to “suspect success.” I know that “success brings pride and pride brings complacency. Nothing fails like success.” (Craig Groeschel). I want to always maintain a sense of urgency.
“When my devotional life becomes a duty and not a delight, I will shut everything else down until His presence returns.”
6. My fear about anything.
I want to say with Paul “none of these things move me” (Acts 20:24). I want no health scare, aging scare, nuclear scare, terrorism scare, or any scare whatsoever to knock me off my feet.
7. My margin about money.
I want to live below my means. I want to save on every small purchase in order to have money for major purchases. I want to make things last longer and live by cash not credit.
8. My accountability about temptation.
I want to be honest and transparent to someone and everyone. I want no secrets, no hidden sins, no inward compromise, and no Lone Ranger lifestyle.
9. My focus on the next generation.
I don’t want to use up my influence on myself. Instead, I want to focus it on the needs, hurts, and deficiencies of God’s leaders coming right after me.
10. My obsession with anything.
I don’t want hobbies, habits, and quirkiness to control me. I don’t want anything in my life to be like Gollum on “Lord of the Rings” talking about “my precious.” Jesus is precious, my family is precious, the world is precious.
Material things can eat away all my time, resources, and influence. They can’t have me! “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only I may finish my course” (Acts 20:24).
Check your heart. Monitor it daily. You can’t backslide overnight. Don’t defer your inward maintenance. Run strong, run well, and …
“Finish strong.”