Examine

​“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Socrates

When I was a junior college student, I came across old high school friends who were going to the bar. Excited, I decided to join them. The problem was it was the night before my Statistics finals, and Math-related courses have always been my Waterloo. The result? I failed the exam, repeated the course, and lost my scholarship for the next year because I prioritized having fun instead of reviewing for my exam.

Examinations are administered to test one’s knowledge of a subject. Passing an examination attests that one is ready for the higher class. The word stems from the Latin “examinare”, which means to weigh, ponder, or consider.
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Reviewing what we learned in an academic course is similar to reflecting on our lessons in the university of life. But, unlike the academic classroom where the professor administers an exam, an individual needs to be responsible for evaluating his life for the past twelve months. Every new year is higher, so we need to assess the past year to ensure we're ready. Look over the pages of your story. Identify your focus and priorities. Be grateful for the good and learn from the bad, but address unresolved issues, and so on, before you close the book for 2021.

However, the problem is that people are primarily unreflective. A typical posture is to turn a new leaf and forget about the past. The result? We fail, repeat the same mistakes, and lose out on blessings.
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I was unreflective for some time. Years ago, I ran  on auto-pilot. The daily grind, bills, chores, family obligations, and routine – these tyrants ruled my life. I got wise and prioritized the activities that pulled me from all directions. So I drew a to-do list. Guess what? 

This list turned me into a robot. Often, I declined my daughter’s request to chat over tea, my son’s offer for a joy ride, my husband’s invitation to watch a movie, or my dog’s plea to play. Still, at the end of a busy day, I’d be beaten down, empty, and a failure for not accomplishing all my tasks.

My passive existence was disrupted while reading Haggai. He said,

Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!”
Haggai 1:5 NKJV

Ouch! How many years have I wasted allowing life to take over instead of thinking it over? When unreflective, you don't notice the black spot on the ladybug or the cloud formation in the sky. What’s worse, you overlook your hurting child, how you've veered away from your primary goals, and that your marriage is going downhill. There’s no beauty, joy, or meaning in your existence. If you don’t give thought to your ways, life will pass you by, leaving you empty-handed.

There are many ways one can evaluate life, but we’ll look at the next verse in Haggai for now. It talks about things we’re doing that aren’t resulting in anything.

You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don't have enough. You drink, but you aren't filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.”
Haggai 1:6 NKJV

I guess everyone can relate to this. Even if we work 24/7, we cannot make enough or we want more. Sometimes unforeseen needs arise, Or worse, health problems. If finances are the top priority, Rousseau’s words are valid, “The money you have gives you freedom; the money you pursue enslaves you.” If we continue on the same path every day of every year, we’ll get the same results.

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Proverbs 16:25

What path of life are you on?
Where does it lead?

If we give careful thought to our ways, we can change how to live our lives and our end. "Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change." (Jim Rohn)

The next verse provides what we need to prioritize.

“Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD.
Haggai 1:8

At that time, the Israelites did not say that they would not build a temple at all. But, they said, "Not yet, not at the moment. That will come later after we’ve built our houses and planted our fields.”

They did not say that they would never repent, reform or be actively involved in doing work for God’s Kingdom. They just said, “Not yet.”

Hundreds of years later, our Lord Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

Our response today is often no different from that of the Jews. We say I gotta send my kid to college first. Or when I’ve paid off my house. Or after I finish my MBA. Or when I’ve saved up for retirement. Or now I’m too old. When God’s work is put off, so are His blessings.

We can easily get carried away by good things and end up neglecting those that really matter, including those with eternal value. And, if we’re not reflective, we’ll continue hoping that what we’re pursuing will give significance and meaning in life.
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The good news is, examining our life will allow us to re-establish our focus. Someone said, “No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

 Suppose we adopt the paradigm of the examined life; 2022 will be an opportunity to apply what we learned in 2021. How appropriate these lessons will be as we enter the third COVID year. We can be informed but not hopeless or fearful. While economies continue to crumble, natural disasters ravage, and rising crime rates keep us on alert, we have a safe hiding place in God. We can insulate our hearts from the invasions, intrusions, and distractions of this age. Our hearts will be set on the Sovereign God.

If you were a mentor to yourself, how would you draw an exam for your life in 2020?

Have you ever thought about what your purpose in life is?