The Questions we must ASK

I’m sure we’ve all had moments when we typed an email or text, read it over, paused, and then deleted it. Maybe you even typed a second version and deleted that too, not because the information was wrong, but because you sensed that the spirit behind the message wasn’t right.

Well, I’ve had to deal with the same experience, too. I’ve typed replies to send to my wife, perfectly factual, perfectly logical, but after a second thought, I deleted them. Not out of indecision, but out of reflection.

The wrong spirit

Sometimes our actions, even when honest, can be influenced by the wrong attitude or the wrong spirit. And when that happens, our words may do more harm than good. I’ve also watched my wife do the same, and honestly, she’s much better at it than I am. I have to give her credit for that. I’ve seen her delete much more than I have.

We generally don’t ask ourselves why we deleted, because we’ve come to learn that “the love of Christ constraints us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

When our heads get on the way

However, we fail many times, too, because you know, even when God blesses our darling hearts, our stupid heads still get in the way. But thank God, we’re growing. Glory to God!

But, just in case you are curious, what would you say if she asked you? Well, I am a child of light, I’ll simply say: “The reply was true, but the spirit behind it was wrong. Since you hadn’t seen it yet, I thought it best to delete it.”

If we judge ourselves...

The Bible says, “Examine yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5), and “Test every spirit, whether it is of God” (1 John 4:1). For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31). I’m sure you understand that the small example I have shared simply shows how easy it is to examine ourselves and delete something before others have read or seen it.

How we examine ourselves

What about when we’re speaking to someone face-to-face or over the phone? We must judge ourselves in those moments as well. When we realize we’ve spoken a word that should have stayed within “the four walls of our mouth,” we should pause, examine ourselves, judge ourselves, and then withdraw the word or apologize. That is how we judge ourselves. That is how we examine ourselves.

A heart discipline

It’s a discipline of the heart, recognizing when something slipped out that shouldn’t have, correcting it quickly, and keeping our spirits tender before God and before people. What if we do not judge ourselves? Then we leave room to be judged by the Lord. Scripture teaches that self-examination is God’s mercy; it spares us from greater judgment.

Ananias and Sapphira

Take, for example, Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-5. They failed to examine themselves, and they never tested the spirit behind their giving. They didn’t stop to ask the right questions. They did not judge their own actions, and therefore, they were judged by the Holy Ghost.

An offering, with a wrong spirit

What they brought was an offering, but the spirit behind it was wrong. There was deception, pretense, and a desire for appearance rather than truth. Peter’s response exposes this. To Ananias, he asked four sharp, probing questions, questions Ananias should have asked himself before ever bringing his gift. And when Sapphira came in later, Peter asked her two fiery questions, questions she and her husband should have wrestled with together.

Peter's Six Questions

First, Peter asked, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost…?” This question highlights the spiritual root of Ananias’ deception. Second, he said, “While it remained, was it not thine own?” showing that even if Satan planted the idea, Ananias was still responsible for examining whether the spirit behind it was from the Lord.

Third, “And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?” emphasized that he had control over the outcome. Fourth, Peter asked, “Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?” demonstrating that the sin was premeditated, not a momentary slip.

To Saphira, Peter posed the fifth question: “Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?” and the sixth: “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?”

Examine yourself!

These were questions they should have reflected on, asked themselves, and used to judge their own hearts and actions. Had they examined themselves, tested their motives, and discerned the spirit behind their actions, they would have been spared. Judge yourself! Examine yourself!