9 Ways to Keep Watch on Yourself

In his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul says, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (4:16, ESV).

Christian, do you practice this? Do you keep a close watch on yourself and doctrine? Do you ensure that you’re watching your life and what you’re allowing to inform you? It can be so easy to take our eyes off ourselves and allow the world to corrupt us in various ways.

Here are some ways to help us keep watch on ourselves.

1. Don’t isolate yourself. The moment we attempt to live the Christian life alone is the moment we become more susceptible to sin. Keep watch on yourself by not keeping to yourself. Make it a point to fellowship with other believers and put yourself out there, as hard as it may be.

2. Seek out discipleship. Speaking of putting yourself out there, make sure to find someone to disciple you. We all need someone for this. It doesn’t have to be a formal sit-down session (although it can be). But you need to find someone wiser and further in their Christian walk to help you in yours. We keep watch on ourselves by having others keep watch too.

3. Seek someone to disciple (if appropriate). Some Christians might be too young in the faith for this, but if you’re not, go out of your way to disciple someone who is struggling. You’ll find that, in doing so, you keep watch on yourself in this process because the focus is off you and on the person your discipling.

4. Learn to be vulnerable. The hardest thing for anyone to do is be vulnerable, to be honest about one’s shortcomings, failures, and sins. If we truly value keeping watch on ourselves, we must learn to be vulnerable, to allow people into our lives and to know our sins as we know them.

5. Pray without ceasing. A prayerless Christian is a dangerous Christian. When we remember what prayer is—communing with God and displaying our utter dependence on Him—then we will understand how vital prayer is to keeping watch on one’s self.

6. Saturate yourself in the Bible. The best way to keep watch on yourself—whether in life or doctrine—is to read your Bible. In the end, we don’t read the Bible, but it reads us. When we read Scripture, the Spirit opens our eyes to its truths and commands. By reading the Bible, we can know how to keep watch on ourselves.

7. Learn to be more discerning. False doctrine is everywhere—it’s not hard to find it. The important thing is to know what is false doctrine and what isn’t. Don’t believe the lie that says you are divisive because you seek to be discerning. We must understand truth from falsehood, for in many situations, eternity hangs in the balance. You cannot keep watch on yourself if you lack discernment. You must also discern well, for example, who you choose to associate with.

8. Set boundaries, if necessary. Practically speaking, there are a plethora of things to do to keep watch on yourself, specifically as it pertains to character. Perhaps it’s ensuring you only spend so much time on your phone per day; maybe it’s having a program that sends someone a notification if you browse a site you shouldn’t be on. Though difficult, these are good steps to help keep watch on yourself.

9. Sit under sound, biblical preaching. Above all, one of the best ways to “keep watch” is by sitting under solid, biblical preaching—preaching that doesn’t sugarcoat things but heralds the whole counsel of God! By sitting under sound preaching, we open ourselves up to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, which is a sure fire way to keep watch.

Friends, we much keep watch on ourselves. Pray for guidance, strength, and discernment.