Each week, our office administrator hands me the worship bulletin, and I carefully proofread it using a red pen to mark up any changes, mistakes, or additions that need to be made. She now jokingly refers to it as “my judgy red pen.”

What she doesn’t realize is that I don’t use the red pen primarily on her work but on my own. I have a set of red pens specifically for the purpose of editing my own work. Every week, I print out my sermon while it’s still in development, and then I take that red pen and thoroughly mark up the text. I cross out unnecessary material, write questions in the margins, and make notes about what needs to be added or changed.

It’s easy to be a critic of other people, using our keen eyes and red pens to pick them apart. But it’s far more challenging to turn that same level of judgment and scrutiny inward onto our lives.

One key to improving any area of your life, even your spiritual life, is a willingness to take out your metaphorical red pen and critically examine yourself. What needs to be removed from your life? What questions should you be asking yourself? What might need to be added or changed?

The truth is, the most crucial use of that “judgy red pen” should be in our lives. Spiritual growth often requires the courage to dissect our thoughts, actions, and priorities with the same precision that we so readily apply to others.