Introspection: the good and the bad

For various reasons, Martha e-posed the question, "Can we be too me/now focused?" to our family. The responses (all from the girls, of course) put considerable emphasis upon the importance of ongoing self-examination as a vital tool in spiritual growth. If we hope to serve and love our fellow saints in the kingdom of God, we have "a lot of work to do" now. I felt proud and delighted by the obvious sincerity, conscientiousness and dedication shown by our "kids" (all of who are "old" adults now). I'm sure most believers would applaud the responses. Except, that is, those who deride all human attempts to pursue godliness by actually changing themselves as tantamount to trying to earn one's own salvation. Oh well, you can't win everybody.

My response diverges somewhat. My kids will probably say, "Here goes dad - being a contrarian - again!" Hey, it's a tough job playing the devil's advocate, but someone has to do it. (If the topic warrants it, that is.) I'm conscious that saying anything at all against introspection is fraught with danger; I'm confident that what I'm trying to say has some merit, but the concept by its very nature cannot be constrained in a straight-edged box, so it's a real challenge to tie up all the possible loose ends, particularly when limiting one's comments to hundreds, not thousands, of words. But here goes my attempt at an answer.

Now, Christian discipleship requires shouldering the burden of obedience God lays on us (Matt. 7:21). It requires resisting Satan (1 Peter 5:9) and temptation (1 Tim. 6:9), mortifying the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 8:13), ministering to the saints (Heb. 6:10), and "putting on the armor of God" (Eph. 6:11). It also requires going to the throne of grace for forgiveness when we sin, and determination not to re-offend (Ps. 51). Success in pursuing these goals results in "spiritual growth", in bringing us to the "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13); those who succeed receive God's approval as "overcomers" (Rev. 2:11, etc.) and will get to sit with Jesus on His throne (Rev. 3:21).

Now who would dispute the contention that nobody will hit the target unless they train their eyes and focus their mind on it? "Accidental overcomer" is an oxymoron. Success involves the intelligent (Col. 3:2) and diligent (Heb. 6:11) application of oneself to the goal; a lazy, cavalier attitude guarantees failure.

So doesn't it make sense that we should be constantly on our guard, scouring our hearts daily to find and root out any "evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12) that may sneak in when our back is turned? Don't we have to continually question our motives lest we are doing the right thing with a wrong heart? Surely we should at least be on constant alert for the first signs of some sneaky sin rearing its ugly head. Well, no.

Naturally, I have to immediately qualify my negative answer. First, I'm not saying we should drive through life like many a teenager with his first car - recklessly. Note Proverbs 4:26-27:

Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.

Diligent alertness is a virtue to be cultivated. But that can be achieved without constantly looking inward. Let's face it; we generally know full well when we are about to trample on our conscience. Stopping sin in its tracks does not require introspection but the help of the Holy Spirit. Sure, we probably all fall short of the mark of perfection every day; but this failure stems not from lack of introspection but from a shortage of wisdom (Prov. 8:20). David put the problem of his "secret sins" into God's hands for God to deal with (Ps. 19:12). Let's not try to usurp the Holy Spirit's role of leading us in the way of righteousness (Ps. 143:10, Rom. 8:14).

Second, we agree that every believer will periodically experience times when he is suddenly pulled up short by a recognition of carelessness in his Christian walk. When the Holy Spirit convicts one of sin, protracted introspection may be just the ticket. Psalm 51 describes such a moment in David's life.

But you can get a lot more bang for your meditation bucks by looking away from yourself and making someone else the focus of your thoughts. That "other", of course, is none other than God. Even when Paul tells us to "examine yourselves" (1 Cor. 11:27-28), he is not enjoining ongoing self-focus. Rather, he is warning us that being a card-carrying member of the body of Christ and giving lip service to Jesus is not enough to please God. Anybody who takes sin seriously and constantly remembers what Jesus Christ has done for us - looks at Jesus Christ rather than at himself - can rest assured he is on God's program.

The idea that Christians must engage in constant introspection is actually counterproductive to spiritual growth. In his seminal work on the writings of Paul, Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West, Krister Stendahl argues that the notion that Paul was constantly looking inwards and wrestling with a guilty conscience is utterly misplaced. Paul, he shows from Scripture, had a robust conscience, and spent little precious time looking inward at his shortcomings. "We look in vain for a statement in which Paul would speak about himself as an actual sinner", he says. The historical church, however, mistakenly placed a lot of emphasis on introspection. "The manuals for self-examination among the Irish monks and missionaries became a treasured legacy in wide circles of Western Christianity. The Black Death may have been significant in the development of the climate of faith and life. Penetrating self-examination reached a hitherto unknown intensity". This unfortunate legacy continues in Christendom today, intensified by Luther's writings about dealing with his guilty conscience.

Spiritual growth is enhanced by focusing one's whole mind on God and Jesus Christ. Forget yourself; think about what Jesus Christ has done, not about what you have failed to do. Let God and the Holy Spirit do their job in your life. Let your high priest, Jesus Christ, perform His sanctifying work in you. If you train your thoughts on Him, you almost cannot help but walk in the path of righteousness.