Do you resent the troubles in your life and the times that you need to trust me for basic necessities? You could look at this as a consequence of the fall, or you could see it in a more positive light. I have chosen the poor to be rich in faith. What do you notice about the affluent and self-sufficient? Their abundance allows them to live at ease, with no conscious awareness of dependence. The poor do not have this luxury. Atheism, when not imposed by a regime, is more prevalent among those who are well-off.

Do you think that sin normally involves sex or money? What about the first sin? Sex and money were not issues for sin in the garden, but I told the inhabitants not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, lest they die. You live in a culture that values knowledge highly, so much so that it is even called an information culture. Learning is universally sought and admired. Most people don’t think of this as a sin. Do you?

Do you have a job to do in my Kingdom? This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a title and office in a church. I have a job for everyone. Are you waiting for popular demand to recruit you into this position? Who wouldn’t prefer this method of calling? You know that self-promotion is wrong, but don’t expect to wait until a groundswell of public opinion recruits you to serve me. In that case would you be serving me or them? You can only serve one master. The prophets of old were faithful in serving me even though answering my call made them unpopular.

Are you in a position of accountability? Do you see this as a control structure imposed from without, by some authority figure you are accountable to? That is one expression of this concept, but it should start before that at an individual level, being accountable to yourself. Are you honest with yourself? Can you see yourself clearly enough to know what your weaknesses are, and know which of these are beyond your ability to deal with yourself, and seek the help you need to overcome them? Does it seem too easy to think of accountability as starting internally?