Spiritual Assessment
By Brent Davis
Recently, I had a physical assessment and I am happy to report that all my numbers were normal (some just barely!). But, what about spiritual assessments? What is ‘normal’ spiritually? In health sciences, there are spiritual assessments, but they are focused on identifying whether spiritual beliefs are helpful (or possibly harmful) for physical health and especially for end-of-life issues. What is needed is a definition of spiritual health that relates to human flourishing, what Maslow called self-actualization.
Messer (20 ) makes the point that we are created beings, we have a purpose, so our spiritual assessment should include our fitness for our purpose. The Bible lists a number of purposes for humans: to manage the rest of creation (Genesis 1); to be the people of God (1 Peter 2: 9); and, to do good works (Ephesians 2: 10). Put another way, we are to function in the Kingdom of God so as to promote God’s glory through proper relationships with God, others, and the rest of Creation. A good summary of this can be found in the Sermon on the Mount.
