NOTE: The author of this Blog Entry is my beautiful Christian wife Kathy J. McNiel
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
– Romans 8:6
Many magazines have self tests that can help readers to learn something about themselves: “Are you in a healthy relationship?”, “Are you depressed?”, “How old is your brain?”, “What is your aura’s color?” etc. While these quizzes can be interesting and are occasionally useful, here is one that may hold the key to your eternity. Think about these questions honestly and you may find out something interesting about yourself…
1.On Saturday, are you usually:
a)Staying up all night to finish the movie marathon or big game on TV?
b)Having a blast down at the bingo parlor?
c)Preparing yourself to worship God the next morning by getting enough sleep and taking care of other plans for Sunday (lunch, clothes, activities)? (Exodus 19:10-16, John 4:24)
2.On Sunday morning, would you rather:
a)Commune with God by enjoying His creation?
b)Participate in a family activity or other recreation?
c)Assemble with the saints and worship your God in Heaven? (Revelation 4:11)
3.Do you show greater respect (in both attire and attitude) when you are:
a)Attending a funeral for a close friend or relative?
b)Called to meet with your boss or a client?
c)Remembering Christ’s suffering and death at His table? (1 Corinthians 11:27-30)
4.What holds your attention longer and more closely:
a)A good movie, book or TV show?
b)Your favorite video game?
c)The preaching and study of God’s Word? (1 Corinthinans 1:21, Philippians 4:8)
5.When the preacher offers the invitation at the end of his sermon, do you start:
a)Packing up the snacks and toys your child has strewn about the pew?
b)Thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner?
c)Thinking about how you can apply that sermon to your own life? (James 1:22-25)
6.Do you feel it is important to attend worship services or Bible study:
a)When it doesn’t conflict with other plans?
b)Occasionally, but at least once a month?
c)Every time the doors are open (if you are physically able)? (Hebrews 10:25,
13:15)
7.When the elders of your congregation ask you to do something, do you:
a)Just ignore what they have said?
b)Get together with your friends and complain about it?
c)Do your best to comply, as long as it doesn’t conflict with God’s Laws? (Hebrews 13:17)
8.Do you spend a greater percentage of your time:
a)Working to have money for stuff?
b)Participating in recreational activities?
c)Studying God’s Word and carrying out His commandments? (2 Timothy 2:15)
9.When something really good happens in your life, is your first thought:
a)To give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back?
b)To call Mom for a well-deserved “atta-boy?”
c)To pray and offer God a well-deserved “Thank You” for your blessings?
(2Corinthinans 9:11, Revelation 7:12)
10.In raising your children, is it more important that they:
a)Get straight A’s in school?
b)Learn how to be good athletes/musicians/Boy Scouts?
c)Study their Bibles daily and become faithful Christians? (Ephesians 6:4,
1 Timothy 4:8, Ecclesiastes 12:1)
11.What have you more frequently shared with a friend, coworker or neighbor:
a)The name of a good mechanic?
b)Your famous chocolate trifle recipe?
c)An invitation to study the Bible? (Proverbs 11:30, Mark 16:15)
12.When the world (or your fellow Christians or God) sees you, do they see:
a)Someone who is not different from the world at all?
b)Someone who claims to be a Christian, but doesn’t hold it as a high priority?
c)A reason to ask about the “hope that is within you?” (Matthew 5:14, 1 Peter 3:15)
Our text, Romans 6:8, only gives us two options: spiritually minded, which is life, or carnally minded, which is death. Where do you fall? If you answered nothing but “C,” you can likely say that you are spiritually-minded. Good start. Now go study your Bible even more! If your answers tend more to the “A” and “B” range, could it be that you need to take a long look at what you have placed as priorities in your life?
God’s Word reminds us that we cannot be friends of both the world and God: Matthew 6:24, James 4:4. Remember also that our children will learn their priorities from us… what are we teaching the next generation when we allow other things in our lives to come before our service and worship to God? When we allow the world and earthly pursuits to take over our thinking and our priorities (and those of our children), be assured that we are pushing Christ out of our lives. As we stop fighting for Christ on a daily basis, Matthew 12:30 tells us that we start fighting against Him. On the judgment day, which of us wants to be found on the wrong side of a losing battle? Please listen to the words of Paul to the Christians in Corinth and Rome:
“… Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
(2 Corinthians 6:2)
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” (Romans 13:11)
If you are not comfortable with your answers to any of the above questions, or you think that God might not be comfortable with them, it is indeed “high time to awake.” Now is the time to change your thinking and put God first in your life, before it is everlastingly too late.
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