Are they coming to alignment?

1 Timothy 4:16

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

I was compelled by the Spirit to ask...

What are people seeing, and hearing from me?

Is my life fruitful and does it bear witness to the Gospel?

Looking at myself in in the most true state - outside the miracle of newness in Christ, my fallen natural self from a perspective of truth and love.

This is extremely difficult.

I took the opportunity to note the flesh responses....maybe you can identify, maybe not.

It was something to realize my 1st response was wearing blindness. Many times I can reflect and see how I have been so self absorbed that it becomes impossible to face truth and reality as they are. Now we have additional aids that increase our bent toward 'not seeing'.....Headphones and smartphones, tablets and watches, tv's and video games, social media and politics.

Another response was minimizing/discounting. Placing little significance or emphasis on the impact or influence of the areas in my flesh that are yet worldly, sinful, toxic for my life and the lives of others.

Blaming was another response. The instinct to identify other people, places, and things that are to blame for my inner state. It is often easier for us humans to maintain that false image/mask/idea that we are right and don't do any wrong.

Then there was justifying. This was explaining my case so that I could convince myself/others/God that I was right to do what I did or that all is ok, even though it did not align with Truth in Christ.

Deflecting - or changing the subject to alter the conversation, thought content, or otherwise lighten the intensity or avoid the need for real spiritual introspection.

Busyness is another response I am guilty of. By having a constant influx of information, tasks, and activity so that there is no quiet time, no reflection, no stillness to see the state of my inner person, and no time to engage with the Holy Spirit to inspect the areas that need to be brought back into submission.

Focusing on others is yet another method of engaging in activity that deflects from the growth of personal fruit in my life. It provides a great cover, is essentially a Biblically approved and Good Samaritan type of focus, except when it becomes more about the busyness of doing while neglecting personal relationship with God, being less about engaging in those personal disciplines that produce deeper personal relationship with God and manifested fruit that is the natural outcome of intimacy and quality time engaged with Abba.

These are some of the ways I can identify areas in my life that I need to continue to be hyper aware of potentially falling into spiritual disrepair that could essentially become carnal rather than engaging in the disciplines necessary to continue to become, being intentional in growth and relationship with God, thus having greater impact in the spreading of the Gospel. It is not always what we say that inspires others, but more often the ways we engage with the Father that produce natural reflections of Him in our interactions with others.