Are you jaded? This implies a cynical attitude. Do you feel it is more common today? You have a multitude of opportunities and experiences available to you. Do you take advantage of these to their fullness? Do you find them to be satisfying? You may find them to be empty and disappointing if you strip them of their spiritual potential. There is nothing that you will find to provide long term satisfaction if you strip the world of wonder and mystery and transcendent meaning. Jaded people may appear to be worldly wise but it is truly the wisdom of this world.

Do you have to agree with people to get along with them? This is a default assumption and you see people sort themselves out according to common beliefs, political ideology, occupation, income level, education and social standing among others, yet is this necessary or desirable? Is a common interest a deep or shallow basis for friendship? Are you surprised to see people of opposing viewpoints form deep, real, and lasting friendships? This shows it is possible even if it is rare. Are you surprised by how much I reached out from my own faith, culture, and tradition to those outside?

Reformation is a term that can be used to apply to individuals who are in need of moral development, but it can also be applied to organizations. The most famous of these is the Protestant Reformation of the church. Do you see this as a one-time event, or is it ongoing or periodic? To bring this question up to date, is the church currently in need of another reformation? If you are currently a part of the church, are you in a position to know the answer? Were those who were a part of the existing church in a position to recognize the need and reform it from within?

One thing that conservatives and liberals can agree on is that there is a problem, and they are not the problem. Do you see problems everywhere except in yourself? This issue isn’t limited to political ideologies. It happens in churches too. Is there anyone who thinks that the problem in their church is them, or that their church is the problem in comparison to other churches? Objective reality may suggest that problems are uniformly distributed, but the only ones you are in a position to address are yours. This begins with an awareness of reality.