Being Tested

“They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.” – 1 Timothy 3:10

Psychologists have a test for selfishness – it’s called the narcissism test!

Narcissism is a personality trait with excessive self-love.

In Greek mythology Narcissus was a man who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water.

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was developed by Raskin and Hall (1979) for the measurement of narcissism as a personality trait in social psychological research.

The test consists of forty pairs of statements. For each pair, people select the one that they feel best reflects their personality. It takes most people five to ten minutes to complete.
The statements are similar to the following:
“I like to be the center of attention”

“I show off if I get the chance because I’m extraordinary”

“Somebody should write a biography about me.”

Unfortunately, the median score on this test has risen 30% in the last 2 decades!

In a similar way, our faith needs to be tested to serve others.

Praise the Lord that through testing, your faith will increase.

“We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them.” – Charles C. West

“Test everything. Hold on to the good.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21