Self-Examination
- Michael Haldas
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
“We have said that sins brings death to the soul. It’s hard when the soul of a man dies. But God has the power to raise the dead. This is our hope. We have to examine ourselves, whether we’re alive or not. And how can we know that someone has died? When he doesn’t answer. You push him, talk to him, kick him, turn him around—nothing, he’s dead. You check his pulse—it’s stopped, he’s dead. It’s the same in the spiritual life. You tell him one thing, another, but nothing touches him. Trials, sorrows, and difficulties happen in his life, but he doesn’t come to himself. There’s nothing inside him that could direct him to God.” (Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol)
“...always form in your¬ self repentance for the sin that you examined and make a firm intention to change. But do not allow this firm intention to remain only in your mind, but try to carry it out in reality; as soon as you find that you are not carrying it out or have forgotten it, renew it again in your memory and put forth a new effort to carry it out.” (Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov)
“Self-knowledge is when a man studies himself and examines whether his actions are good or bad, whether he has a good or bad character. Self-knowledge is the foundation of a good Christian life. If a man didn’t realize a sin he committed at first, what failings there are in his heart, then how could he repent of them and become better? The process of self-knowledge isn’t easy—those who desire it will have to work hard. A great benefit and spiritual grace will be given to us if we come to know ourselves well and honestly admit to ourselves what specific shortcomings we have and what exactly we’re guilty of before the Lord. If we do this, then our subsequent repentance will be full and sincere, which will help our correction. And if we’re not able to come to know ourselves well, then we not only won’t be good Christians, we won’t be good at anything else either. He who knows himself well will never condemn his neighbor.” (St. Gabriel of Imereti)
“Peter has come a long way since his very first encounter with Christ, roughly three years before the incident described above. At that first encounter three years earlier, when the Lord similarly revealed Himself through a miraculous catch of fish, Peter’s reaction was fear: “Go away from me, Lord,” he said to Jesus, “for I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8) To Peter’s way of thinking, back then, his own sinfulness meant he needed to distance himself from the Lord…three years later, Peter’s reaction to the presence of Christ is very different: he literally jumps to greet Him…this is not because Peter is any less aware of his own sinfulness…he had just recently thrice denied Christ and was, at this point, a lapsed Apostle. Having “wept bitterly” over his lapse, Peter is broken; he is more aware than ever that he is “a sinful man.” And yet he no longer seeks to distance himself from the Lord because of this…Peter knows that the Lord is particularly open to the repentant sinner: “I have not come to call the righteous,” He says, “but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:32). So Peter now brings humble self-knowledge to the table, rather than isolating himself in self-centered fear. Today, when Christ calls me to “Come and eat,” let me not hesitate nor self-isolate in fear.” (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin)
“1 Corinthians 11:31 reads in many English translations, ‘For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.’ Some translations read, ‘For if we would examine ourselves…’ I prefer this one because I think it make what St. Paul is saying clearer. God love us, desires a relationship with us, and wants us to grow in Him. He wants us to examine our sinful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and correct them ourselves so that He doesn’t have to. This is repentance -a change in thought that leads to a change in behavior and/or maturity to accept the consequences knowing it is for our growth.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
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