Testing

The West Side Herald

Testing. It is a word many of us do not like. Why do we have such a distain for testing? It may be we don’t like to know that we don’t know everything we should. Or maybe we dread testing because we feel like it is a trial by fire. Interestingly, the word test actually came from the 14th –century practice of using fire to heat a small earthen pot- called testum in Latin. This was done to determine the quality of precious metal. So, yes testing is a “heated” process that uncovers the quality of a person’s _______________. You can fill in the blank with many things. Whatever the reason, testing simply makes us uncomfortable. Yet, testing is a good thing.

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.…” There is that word again, testing! Testing connected with joy. How can that be? It is in the testing that one grows and becomes complete. The only way to know how we need to grow is to find out what we are lacking. Faith and learning are like a muscle. When it’s stretched and it’s pulled then it develops. When you test your muscles against weights, only then does your muscle develop. So also, faith and learning. Testing is good! It may make us uncomfortable at times, but it is good.

Tammy Dawson