Who do you recognize as a voice of moral authority speaking to you? This would be someone that you respect enough that you would follow their advice even if it went against your current practices and understanding. Who has the stature to make you revisit your existing habits and thinking? For most Christians this would include their pastor. Is there anyone of national reputation whom you would consider to be such an authority? If you can’t think of anyone for whom you would change your behavior, can you honestly claim to be teachable and open to change? Whose authority do you recognize?

Do you enjoy the company of your friends? What purpose do they serve? Have you heard the old philosophers question about a tree falling in the forest and whether anyone was around to hear it make a sound? This academic question has a corresponding one of real substance. Have you heard it said that nothing happened if no one saw it? Things may happen in isolation, but they gain meaning by being observed. Even if your friends don’t take part in your activities, don’t you find satisfaction in telling them what you did? Those who serve as witnesses to your life add meaning in doing so.

Do you have a personal training program? For economy of effort education is usually conducted in a classroom where all the students get the same lesson. One-on-one instruction, known as tutoring, is more expensive to provide, but in recent times the availability of on-line content makes it possible to tailor instruction to a student individually. Are you led by the Spirit? How do you perceive this? I have promised to perfect that which concerns you, and to lead and guide you in the way of righteousness. Do you see it as inherent in salvation to be transformed into my likeness?

Have you heard the old saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? This implies that observation is not entirely objective and there is eternal truth in this. Several people can watch the same event and see different things, so it is not reasonable to expect a single dispassionate account of what happened, and even science recognizes that events are influenced by observation. What is in your eyes? Are you disposed to see beauty where others see ugliness? Could your ability to see beauty be a creative act that brings forth beauty? He who has eyes to see, let him see.