Self-awareness is quite possibly the most important spiritual quality to develop because it opens our minds and hearts to growth.
One of the best-known stories of Jesus is about having spiritual awareness of our heart condition. It’s called the Parable of the Sower, and just before Jesus explains it, he warns against closing our eyes and our minds to the truth:
Yes, the minds of these people are now closed. They have ears, but they don’t listen. They have eyes, but they refuse to see. If their minds were not closed, they might see with their eyes; they might hear with their ears; they might understand with their minds. Then they might turn back to me and be healed.’
Matthew 13:15 ERV
It’s easy to avoid looking into our hearts, but unaware hearts stay unhealed by God. The more we understand and open our hearts, the more we can turn to God and let him heal us and help us grow.
Ironically, we may not always be aware of our level of self-awareness. That’s why we need help.
This quiz can be used as a helpful tool to understand how self-aware you are today. Remember — developing spiritual self-awareness is a journey, so your results today may not be the same as they are a week, month, or year from now. We all have room to grow in our awareness, regardless of what level we are at today.
The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.
Psalm 119:130 NLT
God’s Word is a helpful and necessary tool in helping us understand ourselves. It gives light to areas of our hearts that we wouldn’t otherwise be aware of. To guide us in how to grow in our self-awareness, we have included a passage of the Bible from the Parable of the Sower with each quiz result.
To learn more about how to grow in spiritual self-awareness, click here.
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You are not very self-aware, but this quiz was a good first step!
Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He told them this story: “A farmer went out to sow seed. [4] While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. [19] “What about the seed that fell by the path? That is like the people who hear the teaching about God’s kingdom but do not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in their hearts.”
Matthew 13:3-4,19 ERV
When we lack self-awareness, this is often because our hearts have been hardened by pain, discouragement, or guilt. Much like the tightly packed soil of a well-worn path, our hearts grow hard when they are packed full of unprocessed feelings and sins. In this hardened condition, God’s Word bounces right off of us, and we can’t get the healing or growth we’re looking for.
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12 NIV
If this describes you, now is the time to break up that hardened, unplowed ground!
Use an emotions wheel. Identify which emotions you feel the most on a daily basis, then write down how you tend to react when those emotions arise, and in what areas of your life they arise most. For example, if anxiety is a common emotion for you, does it come up most at work, home, or somewhere else? Do you react by lashing out, disengaging, or taking control? Share what you find in prayer and conversation with God and friends.
You are a little self-aware but have some areas of your heart you’re avoiding.
Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He told them this story: “A farmer went out to sow seed. [5] Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not enough dirt. It grew very fast there, because the soil was not deep. [20] “And what about the seed that fell on rocky ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and quickly and gladly accept it. [21] But they do not let the teaching go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.
Matthew 13:3,5,20-21 ERV
Jesus describes the rocky soil as people who get excited about growing the way God wants them to, but quit when it becomes difficult or uncomfortable. Does this describe you?
Maybe you are aware of some areas of your heart, but there are certain topics, sins, emotions, or relationships that you refuse to touch. Whatever our reasons for resisting, the Bible makes it clear—God wants our whole hearts, and if we want to grow, we need to be willing to reveal them to him and ourselves.
If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”
Luke 11:36 NLT
If this describes you, now is the time to fill your heart with light—no more dark corners that go untouched!
Ask why (more than once). When trying to understand your behaviors or heart, dig deeper by asking yourself “why” a couple of times. There’s no magical number for how many times to ask, but the more you ask the more you might understand. Prayer is a good place to do this so that you don’t let your emotions or thoughts get the best of you.
You are growing in self-awareness, but distractions and worries are keeping you stuck
Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He told them this story: “A farmer went out to sow seed. [7] Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and stopped the good plants from growing. [22] “And what about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That is like the people who hear the teaching but let worries about this life and love for money stop it from growing. So it does not produce a crop in their lives.
Matthew 13:3,7,22 ERV
The NIV translation of this parable says, “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Sometimes, what’s keeping us stuck is not necessarily our lack of awareness—it’s our unwillingness to listen to God’s Word. Our worried hearts and distracted minds can literally choke out the ways God is trying to help us grow.
Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.
Psalm 119:37 AMP
If this describes you, now is the time to set your priorities straight—slow down, put God and his Word first, and let them help you grow and renew your energy!
Dig deep when you read the Bible. When reading Scripture, ask yourself: what do I learn about myself? What do I learn about God and the life he wants for me? How can I follow this today to become who God is calling me to be?
You’re pretty self-aware, so let’s get started on your growing journey!
Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He told them this story: “A farmer went out to sow seed. [8] But some of the seed fell on good ground. There it grew and made grain. Some plants made 100 times more grain, some 60 times more, and some 30 times more. [23] “But what about the seed that fell on the good ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and understand it. They grow and produce a good crop, sometimes 100 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 30 times more.”
Matthew 13:3,8,23 ERV
Jesus equates hearts that are aware and open to God’s Word with good soil that grows and produces fruit. So if you’ve done the work to become spiritually self-aware, it’s time to grow!
Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. [23] Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror [24] and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. [25] But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.
James 1:22-25 ERV
It’s not enough to look in the mirror—God wants us to do something about it. That’s why the Bible is the perfect tool in helping us grow. It not only shows us who we are, but it guides us to who we are meant to become.
