A Reckoning

I have always avoided those assessments that show up in magazines and on social media.  You are familiar with those point-assigned quizzes that ask, ‘Who Is Your Soul Mate?’, ‘What Kind of Dating Personality Are You?’ or, ‘Is My Relationship Healthy?’

The directions tell you to read the question and indicate your answer in the appropriate checkbox.  There is a point system for each response.  At the end, you tally the numbers and they give you a score for earned points.  It looks something like this.  If you scored:

• 1-5.       You better go back to the drawing board
• 6-10.     You’re not out of the game yet
• 11-15    You’re not bad, but don’t quit your day job
• 16-20    People should pay attention to you
• 21-25    You’ve got it all together.  Did you lie?

Today, I came across a 17 question survey about how I’m doing with spiritual growth.  Disclaimers abound informing the audience that this is not scientific by any means but is to be used as a guide.  You are to spend an hour or so in deep self-reflection and answer the questions honestly.  The idea isn’t to compare scores but to evaluate yourself at various time-periods to see how you’re growing in faith and spirituality.

When evaluating the responses, it’s possible to attain 5 out of 5 points for each.  You gauge each answer with;

• 0 = The good news, I have nowhere to go but up
• 5 = I’m a gold star student.
• Everything else is something in-between

Here is the first question.

"I am gaga for Jesus (or nutso for Jesus, or in love with Jesus, or my heart belongs to Jesus, or…?). Jesus is Lord, which is to say that Jesus is my Maker, Master, and Mentor, and I find my primary identity in being his apprentice. I am a follower, a student, a disciple of Jesus. If you were to observe my life, the things I say, the choices I make, the way I treat people, and even my thought life toward others, you would see abundant evidence of my life as a disciple of Jesus. I am increasingly Jesus oriented in thought, experience, and expression. I see Jesus as the Word of God (what God wants to say to this world), and therefore Jesus is the greatest answer to every meaningful question. For instance, when engaging in spiritual conversations or when asked questions about my faith, I always start with Jesus as the centerpiece of my thinking and living (more than merely God in general, the Spirit, the Bible, our Church, etc.). In other words, if you cut me, I bleed Jesus. (Too violent? How about if you squeeze me, I leak Jesus? If you tickle me, I laugh Jesus?)"

It is now time to score myself.  I think maybe . . . You're expecting me to tell you?  Did you forget? The directions say 'don't compare'!

Well, the truth is simply, I don't even know where to begin.  I do know I can't handle another 16 questions!

I recognize immense value in knowing whether or not I am moving toward God or away from Him.  There is value in knowing if I am making every attempt to live a Jesus-centered life.  I think I'm just going to have to find a different way of evaluating my spiritual growth.