Last week’s workout was a time for soul self-evaluation.  Some of the problems I mentioned in an assessment like that included subjectivity and validity.  Another one we could add would be self-deceptivity.

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

Often, to improve, we need someone who can sit back – and feedback – their perceptions, what they see, in our life.

In the SoulFit Workout this week you will do two things that will expand on and hopefully address some of the potential problems in the previous week’s workout:

1.  Give the following list to someone who knows you and that you can trust to be honest with you.  Ask them to evaluate you using the same scale (1-10) and definitions you used for last week’s workout.

The idea is to compare your self-assessment to an outside (of yourself) observer’s and mark the differences if any.  You can certainly give it to more than one person if you desire.  You can email it, meet for coffee or discuss over the phone but do take the time to dialogue over the components.

• Love – among other things, love, is defined in the Bible through some important “nots”. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love is a sacrificial other focus rather than a selfish me focus.
• Joy – joy is a deep, foundational happiness that is independent of circumstance or situation.
• Peace – the absence of war. When we discuss peace as a attribute of soul-health we’re talking about the cessation of conflict, tension and insecurity within us.
• Patience – the dictionary definition of patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”. It’s not easily flustered or rushed; it takes the long-term view.
• Kindness – is consideration, friendliness, politeness, caring.
• Goodness – doing the right thing at the right time with the right motive; morally virtuous.
• Faithfulness – loyalty, trustworthiness.
• Gentleness – is a rod of iron wrapped in layers of cotton; softness; “strength under control” (Weber).
• Self-control – the ability to regulate self; the capacity to choose my actions rather than have them chosen for me; Stephen Covey describes this as being proactive rather than reactive.
• Knowledge – wisdom, deep learning, sensitivity; one aspect of this that is relevant to the test is self-awareness and consciousness.
• Perseverance – tenacity, the steadfastness in the face of difficulty or delay; the never-give-up attitude.
• Humility – a life priority structure that places others above you; the absence of arrogance and/or haughtiness.

2.  Pray and ask God to evaluate you in each of these areas.

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

“I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve.”

Compare all three.