Turn the Urge to Critize into Self-Reflection

A good time for self-reflection is when you notice a shortcoming in another person. You may feel the urge to criticize them, but instead turn that urge inward, analyze and be critical of yourself. You may discover that you are in a far worse situation with the same issue than they are.

““Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!” - Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

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The Character Development Cycle

Stages of Character Development A 6 stage cycle for character development is revealed when the parable of the sower is combined with other farming or planting metaphors and similes found in the Bible that are used to explain spiritual development. This blog post briefly summarizes the process by breaking down the combined metaphors and similes into 3 components: the vehicle in Figure 1 is the biological life cycle of a plant, the tenor or topic in Figure 2 are corresponding Biblical symbols and Figure 3 the practical application. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Stage 1: Soil Biological: Soil provides anchorage for plant roots and holds water and nutrients essential for plant growth. Soil condition is important to the growth of healthy plants, therefore cultivators make sure that the soil is suitable before sowing seeds. Biblical: Soil represents the heart. In the parable of the sower, found in Matthew 13, four types of soil conditions are described: roadside, thorny,...

Part 3: Redefining my Relationship with God. - The Story of my Deconversion, Deprogramming, Reconversion and Awakening -

How would you describe the relationship you have with God? Is God your benevolent father, a cosmic sovereign, or your eternal judge? Is God distant and unknowable or intimate and personal to you? If you are like me the question can not be answered in a simple sentence. The relationship isn’t complicated but it is difficult to explain. Nevertheless I will try and do so in this part 3 of my blog series on my de-conversion, deprogramming, reconversion and awakening. For the majority of my life I had a very particular view of how God, in the Christian context, relates to humanity. What I mean by this is that I had a very particular notion of God’s personality and attributes. I personified God as a man who created everything and had a very particular way that he desired things to be done. He communicated his will to His creation through his prophets after sin put a wedge between God and humanity. The story goes that a wedge was created wh...

Chapter 4: The Word as a Seed

Seed selection is an important aspect of cultivating. The quality of the seed can have a huge effect on a farmer’s yield. Farmers must consider what tree yields the most fruit and what fruit are the most desirable. Likewise you must consider the type of character you want to develop and grow. What type of yield do you desire? What are the behaviors you would like to manifest? The desired outcome will dictate the type of concept you should plant in your heart, the portion of your mind governed by emotion. The metaphor for the character as a tree has been unapologetically drawn from the first three verses of Psalm 1 which read: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not w...

Cultivating Character

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