Do you think that more is always better? This is a tenant of your modern culture, but can you see ways in which more is not always better? Consider the food you eat. The ideal amount is to be full and satisfied. Yet you can continue eating beyond this point, but the effect is detrimental. So more is not always better when it comes to food. What about money? Who doesn’t want to have as much as they can possibly get? Yet you can see people who seek an unlimited amount of money and the quest is more detrimental to their well-being than too much food. Can you apply the same principle of full and satisfied to your finances that you can to your diet?

Do you like a bargain? Who doesn’t? Yet do you esteem lightly what you obtain cheaply? Does your church lower the bar of expectations for members? Look around you and see which churches are growing and which are not. Do you see those with high expectations for faith practice growing, and those with low expectations declining? Grace is free, but there is a cost for discipleship. There are some areas in which shopping for a bargain is a false economy. The development of your soul is one of  these. I told stories of wise kings and builders who counted the cost of battles or structures and encouraged my followers to count the cost of following me.

Do you engage in the traditional Christian activities of prayer, Bible study, and church attendance? This list is not exhaustive. You may be able to think of other practices and engage in them. How beneficial do you find these practices? That is, do they make you more loving, kind, generous, and Christlike? I tell you to examine yourself when you take communion. Do you think of this only as a grim review of sin? You could also use it as a time to review the effectiveness of your spiritual practices. How much wisdom and insight does it require for you to see that you would benefit from doing more of  those things that are working for you and less of those things that are not?

Do you know people you would describe as fiercely independent? Are you one of them? My word tells you to stand fast in the liberty in which I have made you free. So is there an advantage to being fierce? You are a member of the community of humanity. With your fellow believers you are a member of my body. But I have not assigned you to make the determination of who belongs and who does not, and even for those who are without you share the distinction of being created in my likeness. Do you assume that liberty and community are exclusive polar opposites? They do not need to be if you hold your independence graciously rather than fiercely.