One Sunday morning a while back my business partners and I were holding a devotional time together. Nate read aloud a chapter entitled “The Prayer of Examen” from Richard Foster’s book Prayer: Finding the Heart’ s True Home. One sentence struck me deeply: “Even the pagan philosophers were wiser than this generation. They knew that an unexamined life was not worth living. ‘Know thyself’ is the famous dictum of Socrates.” The whole chapter surprised me to be honest. Here was what seemed a significant spiritual concept of which I had never heard before—despite being raised in the Baptist church for seventeen years and being a Christian for another seventeen years after that. Now, don’ t misunderstand: I had been confessing my sins for years, but they were all my glaringly obvious sins; it never occurred to me to go look for hidden faults. This was a entirely new concept indeed. Furthermore, according to Foster, self-examination not only is a positive thing, but also something to be practiced regularly. I made a mental note that I would like to examine the Scriptures like the Bereans to see whether this in fact was a Biblical concept, but never thought much about it again until last month’ s Communion service. When Luke quoted 1 Corinthians 11:28-30, my ears perked up: “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” Here was a Biblical command to examine oneself. Moreover, since Luke quoted it in Chinese, I heard a word (省) that reminded me of something I read in The Analects of Kǒngzǐ. At this point, I decided to do a survey of Scripture and classical Chinese literature on the topic of self-examination to see what I might learn. I focused on five areas: 1) the types of self-examination: reactive and proactive; 2) its benefits; 3) its special productivity at nighttime; 4) possible standards for examination; and 5) and thoughts about its inclusion in a daily rhythm.
Self-examination often is a reaction to a negative event. Sometimes the event is a personal failure. For example in The Three Kingdoms an official recognized his shortcomings and said the following: “I am of the opinion that it is my duty to use a strict manner when instructing others, not to pay attention to debates over common customs, and to use a heart of benevolence, righteousness, and justice to lead them. Since I cannot so lead, I resign this position in order to earnestly reflect and critically examine myself.” i Sometimes the event is not a person’s own failure but rather the failure of his associate, implying a sense of responsibility for those in one’s sphere of influence. For example, Hàn History reports this about an official named Yángshòu upon hearing about the behavior of his two brother: “There were two brothers who went to court because of a land dispute. When Yángshòu heard this, he was deeply grieved. That day instead of hearing cases, he merely shut himself up in his room and pondered his mistakes. The whole county did not know what he was doing.”ii Kǒngzǐ taught self-examination in response to other’s failures: “When you meet a man of virtue, learn from him. When you meet a man without virtue, examine yourself to see if you have the same defects as he has.” iiiSometimes self-examination is in response to other’s criticisms of oneself: “Even though others continuously debate my actions, when I examine my conscience, I find nothing of which to be afraid or ashamed.” iv Lastly, self-examination is the suggested response to chronic personal setbacks: “Now, therefore, thus says the Yahweh of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Yahweh of hosts: Consider your ways.” (Haggai 1:5-7).
Some pro-actively practice self-examination to guard against a threat or to support their pursuit of a goal. The passage from 1 Corinthians quoted above is a good example of this. The threat was the sickness and death resulting from unworthily partaking of Communion. Jesus advocated self-examination against the threat of self-deception: “Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness” (Luke 11:35)v. Paul advocated it against the threat of counterfeit faith: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Peter also advocated it against the threat of presumption and in support of perseverance: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). Zēngzǐ considered his goal so urgent that he said the following: “Every day I examine myself once and again: Have I tried my utmost to help others? Have I been honest to my friends? Have I diligently reviewed the instructions from the Master?” vi David wanted to make sure that he was on the path, so he pleaded for Yahweh’s help:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether...
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24).
Numerous benefits are reported as the fruit of self-examination. Kǒngzǐ reported that boldness results from self-examination turning up no offense: “Can a person with a clear conscience ever have any worries or fears?”vii One king reported that it was the foundation of his successful reign: “I critically examine myself and listen to other’s opinions; as a result, the high officials are all loyal to me. With tolerance toward my counselors, I recognize their abilities, encourage them, and cause them to improve continuously.”viii Another king reported: “The ability to heed other’s opinions is intelligence, the ability to examine oneself is sagacity, the ability to control oneself is power.” ix These benefits are in addition to the ones implied in the previous paragraph on pro-active self-examination, viz., prevailing over threats and fortifying goals.
Both the Scriptures and the Chinese classics pointed out midnight to be an excellent time for self-examination. One Chinese author writes: “When I examine my conscience in the stillness of the night, I find remaining in my heart neither resentment nor grudge toward anyone.” x Asaph noted: “I said, ‘Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.’ Then my spirit made a diligent search.” (Psalm 77:6) xi On the bed at midnight is actually a common setting for contemplative prayer in the Psalms:
“Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent” (4:4).
“I bless the Yahweh who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me” (16:7).
“By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life” (42:8).
“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,when I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night” (63:5-6).
From earlier quotes, we get a glimpse of the types of things for which people examine themselves: a heart of benevolence, righteousness, and justice; the absence of grudges or resentment; helpfulness to others; honesty with friends; faithfulness to previous teaching. The 2 Peter 1:10 passage actually refers back to a list of qualities in the preceding verses 5 – 7: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Although not explicitly in the context of self-examination, the Scriptures provides several other lists that could be used productively in self-examination. These include the following:
The Decalogue (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21)
The Deuteronomic Requirements (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
Requirements to dwell on God’s holy hill (Psalm 15)
The Micah Requirements (Micah 6:8)
That which defiles a person (Mark 7:20-23)
The Greatest Commandments (Mark 12:28-31)
The evidences of depravity (Romans 1:28-32)
The works of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-23)
The Corinthian exclusion (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
The Gehenna role call (Revelation 21:8)
The Timothean requirements for overseers and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13)
The Titian requirements for elders and overseers (Titus 1:5-9)
No where do the Scriptures prescribe a frequency for self-examination; however, I observe especially in the Old Testament, valuable practices had well-defined rhythms. There were three types of rhythms: 7-based rhythms, annual rhythms, and daily rhythms. Examples of 7-based rhythms are the weekly Sabbath, the New Moon festival (every four weeks), the sabbath year, and the year of Jubilee. Examples of annual rhythms are Tabernacles, Passover, Pentecost, and Day of Atonement. From the perspective of self-examination, the daily rhythms are the most instructive. Here are examples of things that occurred on a daily basis (sometimes multiple times a day):
The morning gathering of manna (Exodus 16:21)
Morning and evening sacrifices (Exodus 29:38-46)
David and Daniel prayed thrice per day (Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10)
The Lord daily bears the burdens of his people (Psalm 68:19)
Another psalmist praised seven times per day (Psalm 119:164)
The Suffering Servant received new revelation each morning (Isaiah 50:4)
- Jesus taught His disciples to daily pray for bread (Matthew 6:11; Luke 11:3)
But some daily habits naturally could co-occur with self-examination. For example, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). Since following Jesus requires a daily taking up of a cross, I see a daily self-examination as useful to assess how effectively one put off the old man and put on the new man. A sobering verse is this one: “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day” (Psalm 7:11). If God daily feels indignant, it makes sense daily to assess whether my actions and attitudes have contributed to this. The author of Hebrews warned this way: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14). Again, since sin is actively and daily deceitful, we need to take daily safeguards against it through mutual exhortation and, I propose, self-examination. Lastly, consider Psalm 101, in which David outlines the steps that he will personally take as king to rid his kingdom of unrighteousness and injustice. The whole Psalm could serve as another standard of self-examination, but verse 8 is particularly relevant to the topic at hand: “Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the Yahweh.” Now, most of us are not kings of physical territory; however, God has made us His stewards and has given us a kingdom to rule as His representatives. That kingdom includes most basically our own bodies and souls, but also extends to all our realms of influence. I think that it is consistent with the spirit of David here then to say that it is beneficial each day to spend time to examine and eradicate the evil in our bodies, the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
This concludes the report of the research I did. I do not have much of a conclusion at this point. I am still trying to work out the personal application. The point of my writing this report was to collect in one place the material I found on these five areas. My hope is to turn this into a coherent teaching at some in the future.
Footnotes
i《三国志·蜀志·来敏传》“坐事去职”裴松之注引《诸葛亮集》：“自谓能以敦厉薄俗，帅之以义。今既不能，表退职，使闭门思愆。”
ii《汉书·韩延寿传》：“民有昆弟相与讼田自言，延寿大伤之……是日移病不听事，因入卧传舍，闭阁思过，一县莫知所为。”
iii《论语4：17》“子曰：‘见贤思齐焉；见不贤而内自省也。’”
iv 唐·白居易《和梦游春》诗：“扪心无愧畏，腾口有谤讟。”
vThe theme of self-examination is stronger in the 和合本：“所以，你要省察，恐怕你里头的光或者黑暗了。”
vi《论语1：4》“曾子曰：‘吾日三省吾身─为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎？’”
vii《论语12：4》“子曰：‘内省不疚，夫何忧何惧？’”
viii《后汉书·王允传》：“夫内视反听，则忠臣竭诚；宽贤务能，则义士厉节。”
ix《史记·商君列传8》：“反听之谓聪，内视之谓明，自胜之谓强。”
x明·茅维《闹门神》：“倘清夜扪心，原无芥蒂。”
xiThe theme of self-examination is stronger in the 和合本: “我想起我夜间的歌曲，扪心自问，我心里也仔细省察。”
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