Reflection for the Purpose of Correction

There are two times a year I get reflective. One is at New Year's time. The second is on my birthday. Perhaps this is true for everyone, but I always find myself in the midst of self-assessment at these times. Luckily my birthday is in June so that makes for a nice time of reflection every six months.

Recently, I have begun to doubt the value of reflection in my life for a couple of reasons. Reflection almost inevitably leads to regret. Regretting things that were done or things that were not done. This is not necessarily wrong if done properly but the truth is that most of us do not do it properly. What do I mean? The type of reflection that most of us engage in is inherently self-centered. We linger long in thought over our missed opportunities or perhaps wrong that has been done to us. That is not the way God calls us to live. It is right and proper to think upon what we have done if we have unconfessed sin in our lives or wrongs that we need to make right with God and others. However, we should only linger in thought long enough to repent and seek to restore relationships through biblical reconciliation. Apart from that, brooding over the past can lead us into sin as we ignore our obedience in the present. Reflection without action will lead us either to idolatry because of perceived successes in the past of ungodly anxiety as we wring our hands over a past that cannot be changed, only repented of. Paul is clear on the Christian's relationship with the past:

Philippians 3:12-14 -12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

What is your relationship with the past? Is it idolatry? Is it shame? Go ahead and reflect, but make sure your reflection includes healthy doses of God's word and leads to repentance, correction, and moving forward "toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus".

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The Word and the Work: Thoughts on Preaching, Pastoring, and the Christian Life

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