In my last post, I shared the Eight Domains of Life—a framework I use to see the whole field of my life and steward it more intentionally.
But once we identify the different areas we have been entrusted to steward, another question surfaces:
How do we accurately evaluate how we are doing?
Recently, I got together with a friend, and we spent some time looking back over our growth from the past year.
We were trying to rate ourselves in different areas, and both of us kept running into the same problem:
It was hard to know how to score ourselves.
At first, I thought maybe we were just overthinking it.
But later it dawned on me:
We were trying to answer three different questions with one score.
There is a big difference between asking:
🌱 Was I faithful with what God asked me to do?
🌳 What maturity has developed over time?
🔋 What capacity do I actually have in this season?
Those are not the same questions.
They are three different scorecards.
🌱 Faithfulness Scorecard
Am I planting the seeds God is asking me to plant today?
🌳 Maturity Scorecard
What fruit has grown over time?
🔋 Capacity Scorecard
What resources do I currently have available?
This became especially clear when we got to the area of relationships and community.
My friend used to be a social butterfly. She loved being around people. But lately, she has wanted to stay home more.
And she wasn’t sure how to rate herself.
Was that bad?
Was she less loving?
Was something wrong?
But as we talked, I realized we may not have been looking at a character issue.
We may have been looking at a capacity issue.
Sometimes we condemn ourselves because we are using a capacity score as a character score.
🗓️ “I don’t want to attend three social events this week.”
💭 So we think,
“Maybe I don’t love people well.”
👉 But maybe we’re tired.
📋 “I don’t have the energy to start a major project right now.”
💭 So we think,
“Maybe I’m lazy.”
👉 But maybe we’re depleted.
🧠 “I can’t focus for hours like I used to.”
💭 So we think,
“Maybe I’ve become undisciplined.”
👉 But maybe we’re carrying stress, grief, health changes, hormonal changes, or overload.
A low capacity score does not automatically mean there is a character problem.
That distinction matters because the solutions are different.
🌱 If it’s a faithfulness issue, the next step may be to repent, obey, or act.
🌳 If it’s a maturity issue, the next step may be to practice, learn, grow, and stay the course.
🔋 If it’s a capacity issue, the next step may be to rest, recover, replenish, or adjust.
Of course, capacity should not become an excuse to avoid what God is asking us to do.
But neither should the language of faithfulness be used to condemn ourselves for having genuine human limitations.
The acorn and the oak tree should not receive the same maturity score.
But both can receive a high faithfulness score.
The win is not becoming the oak tree today.
The win is planting and stewarding today’s seed.
And God gives the growth. 🌿🌳
The Three Scorecards ToolSheet is a simple printable guide to help you walk through this question in your own life:
The guiding question is:
Is this a faithfulness issue, a maturity issue, or a capacity issue?
Because sometimes we are trying to solve the wrong problem.
We may be treating a capacity issue like a character flaw.
Or treating a maturity issue like a schedule problem.
Or treating a faithfulness issue like we just need more rest.
That is why this matters.
The Eight Domains help us see the whole field.
The Three Scorecards help us understand what we are seeing.
And once we diagnose the right problem, we are much more likely to apply the right solution—and identify the faithful next step.
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