Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
The Need for Self-Evaluation Every servant should look at self-evaluation as a necessary process carried out not only at the end of a fiscal year but as a continuous endeavor that throws light on his performance and the success or failure therein. Self assessment requires sitting quietly with oneself, developing self awareness that leads to evaluation of performance, productivity, achievements and hence the required improvements. In addition to the assessment, correction and direction of the Holy Spirit,; self evaluation requires emphasis on three important dimensions: 1. Goals 2. Emotions and motives 3. Performance 1. Assessment of Goals A servant's goals in service, both for himself and for those whom he serves, must be spiritual in nature entirely stripped of personal or earthly gains; always pointing towards Jesus Christ and spiritual accomplishments under the direction of Jesus Christ's teachings. St. Paul emphasized this concept saying, “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Focusing on spirituality as a primary goal, safeguards against dispersion of thoughts and loss of peace. In addition, remembering that service is from the Lord directed to the Lord, will confirm the need for the Lord as the one and only one goal; as Lord Jesus Christ Himself has confirmed “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'” (Luke 10:41-42). It is important to know that spirituality does not stand in the way of diversification and innovation in service provided spirituality remains the main goal. The best example in balancing out a spiritually directed service is St. Paul as revealed in his words, “to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). Any service that has the salvation of souls as its primary goal is a quiet, faith-charged service full of consolation and satisfaction. 2. Assessment of Emotions and Motives In general, self-appraisal is not an easy task. It requires honest and thorough critical reflection on oneself. Such reflection helps synthesize emotions and motives of the heart and analyze the modes and causes of actions in order to gain control over one's own spiritual growth and promote it. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). A faithful servant should be honest with himself not allowing delusion to creep in his heart because of people's praise. Critical reflection helps a servant analyze the motives behind his service whether they are for financial gains, love for authority, egoistical satisfaction; all of them being anything but spiritual and all them being far away from the real godly goal in service which is the glory of God and not the self. Solomon gives the most outstanding sequence in conducting critical thinking and the therapeutic steps to be taken thereafter “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. 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” (Proverbs 4:23-27). The "servant" status is neither guarantee nor immunity against change of motives and personal agendas. In fact, replacement of goals with new earthly ones can easily take place and any servant is very much exposed to abominable changes of heart. Judah Iscariot is an example of a perverted heart. His presence and service with Jesus Christ in very close proximity did not stop him from selling his Master. King Saul is another example of a perverted heart. Although God had given him a new heart and zeal for accomplishing God's mission, yet gradually his heart started to change becoming filled with envy and jealousy against David to the extent that he wanted to kill him. St. Paul urges the Philippians to follow his example and pattern “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19). This proves the constant need for revising our goals and motives always praying for God's protection repeating with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). 3. Assessment of Performance Performance incorporates a servant's manner and style of conducting service which is in direct relation with his personality. Examples of different performances resulting from different personality profiles appear in different styles of management ranging from very strict to very lenient, very spiritual to very dialectical and very rule oriented. Hence, for the boat of service to sail smoothly in a sea of ups and downs and lots of turmoil, a servant may need to avoid rigid imposition and make some personality adaptations if his work in some areas is not adequate before his service fails and he gets to be blamed. This does not mean that a servant changes his personality to the extent of becoming pleaser of men. Rather, he should ask the Holy Spirit's wisdom and guidance to fulfill his primary goal which is relaying faithfully the message of the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls taking St. Paul's service as an example of a balanced service feeding milk to those who were not ready to receive solid food, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). Conclusion The best example of a servant who has adopted critical thinking as a route to self-evaluation, assessment of performance under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and stability of goal is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
This is clear in His words to the apostles wherein and thereby he has established a number of norms. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:12-15). The Lord Jesus knew when and how to cater for the needs of different genres of people addressing His disciples differently than the multitudes of people or the Pharisees and Sadducees. Since variables are too many and the constants are few, priests should remain constant to the constants i.e spirituality in service while revising their production according the requirements and needs of the time of their service. David describes the various manners God uses saying “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. You will save the humble people; but Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down. 'For You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.’” (2 Samuel 22:26-31). “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence” (2 Samuel 22:2-3). May the Lord guide us with His Holy Spirit while we revise our goals, assess our performances in our service and make the necessary adjustments.
1 Comment
1. Discipleship of Thoughts Within man there exists a huge, creative, constructive mental energy freely granted and furnished by God in order for man to think of all that is good, pious and of good reputation. St. Paul says to the Philippians, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Therefore, it is necessary for thoughts to be brought under discipline according to the course of Christian perfection in order to obtain the trophy of Grace and gain protection against prodigality, ignorance, and loss. The sources of thought discipline are numerous:
Here we ought to remember that we need first and foremost to acquire humility because discipleship of the mind needs humbleness of the mind. On the other hand, when will the time come for a proud, arrogant, stubborn, stagnant, counseling-rejecting mind to be disciplined? 2. Discipleship of the Senses and Organs The human body is a magnanimous entity with members, senses, feelings and propensities that need to be disciplined to become healed, straightened and stabilized in the path of righteousness; in order to know how to proceed in every good deed. The best source of accomplishing this comprehensive discipleship is in the church environment with her Orthodox worshipping and celebrations that are rich occasions, feasts and prayers.
3. Faith and Dogmatic Discipline Since their inception in the bosom of the church, the faithful believers receive their dogma and doctrines passed on, once for all, from the saints. However, this faith edifice needs to be established through the believer’s continuous discipleship on the teachings and sayings of God and the fathers. These sayings nourish and confirm the beliefs protecting them from doubts and backsliding. The best source of dogma discipleship is the liturgical life in our great Orthodox Church enriched with the mysteries, dogma, and grace witnessed for by the Holy Spirit. One grows theologically and dogmatically whenever educated and disciplined on the thoughts of St. Cyril the Great, the Pillar of Faith, St. Athanasius the Apostolic, St. Dioscorus, the Defender of Faith, St. John Chrysostom, the Hero of Orthodoxy, and St. Gregory, the Theologian. Also, the faithful gets disciplined through the actual living of the church feasts such as the major feasts that highlight our Christian dogma. Some of these dogmas are the Incarnation, the Annunciation, the Cross, the Redemption, the Resurrection, the work of the Holy Spirit. Every major feast is a school by itself from which we draw firm teachings concerning our dogma. To be a disciple of dogmas is not just mere intellectual lectures on theology but rather a life lived primarily through the church. Therefore, it is the duty of servants to very early give those whom they serve to drink from these dogmas through a regular church life. 4. Personality Integrated Discipleship Man benefits from lessons offered by life itself. For example, St Anthony benefited from the words of the naked woman about to swim in the sea. Because of her words, he entered the desert taking her reproaching reply as if sent from heaven. St. Ephraim, the Syrian, learned from the woman staring at him who asked him to look at the ground from which he came. He benefitted from her words and trained himself to be humble.
*Adapted from HGBY monthly Clergical letters - Nov. 2012
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