Can We Evaluate Our True Condition?
by Terry Wane Benton
To the Laodicean church, the Spirit said:
"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17).
To think we "have need of nothing" and that our measurement of wealth and riches is correct might reveal that we have in mind the wrong kind of wealth and “need.” Is it material wealth? Does “need” only pertain to the body? Is that all we think is important? If so, there is a serious problem at work here.
When God is concerned about the heart and spirit and our major concerns are material and earthly, we have a problem that will surely stunt our growth and blind us to what is truly important. If our minds are on “things on the earth” instead of our minds being “set on things above” (Colossians 3:1f) we have a condition that makes God sick enough to “spew us out of His mouth.”
The true condition is “wretched”. If we are satisfied, we are like a man who puts his hands on the plow and looks back, we are not fit for the kingdom of God. Our true condition is miserable, and we don’t even realize how miserable our condition really is. We are “poor” on the inside, lacking the eternal riches we should value in Christ above anything else. We are “blind” to what is wrong with our value system. The spiritual treasures in Christ should envelop and enclose our minds with the most prized garments of the soul and character. Spiritual blindness of the true condition of our souls is what makes God want to vomit. This is a wake-up call to the brethren of Laodicea and churches today. Do you see as the world sees? Or do you see what God sees? Is your evaluation the same as God’s evaluation? Are our eyes truly open?
Where is your level of spiritual growth? To the Hebrews, the Spirit said "by this time you ought to be teachers" (Hebrews 5:12f). Have you been in the church so long and even now cannot tell the scriptures a person needs to know to be saved? Have you settled on being a visitor to the assembly but not an involved teacher? Have you decided you don't "need" to be involved and committed as teachers?
Do you really think you "have need of nothing" spiritually? The Spirit says to wake up! "Awake from sleep!"
