Test Your Own Actions

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.

Galatians 6:4-5 NIV

Paul has something significant to say to us here. As followers of the Lord Jesus, each of us should evaluate our faithfulness to him. Are my actions, words, and thoughts pleasing to him? Do they bring honor to him? Or, when I stand before him to give an account of my life, will I be ashamed of what I have done?

We have a tendency to compare ourselves to other people. And we might well be satisfied with that comparison. After all, I am just as good as most people in the church I attend. And better than most of the people I see around me. But Paul warns us against doing that. Rather than comparing myself to other people, I need to honestly appraise my own faithfulness. Am I the person that God wants me to be? Am I faithful to the service he has called me into and the gifts he has given me to accomplish that task? How I stack up compared to someone else does not matter. But how faithful I am to him matters tremendously. Test your life and actions against the only standard that really matters.