Someone once said, "Beware of no man more than thyself", and there's a lot of truth in that statement. Left to our own devices, we're bent on seeing ourselves through rose colored glasses; not as good as we ought to be, but not as bad as the other guy. We're prone to self-deceit, thinking of ourselves to be things that we're not; quick to see that which is wrong in others, while being totally blind to those things which are wrong in us. Our perspective is flawed, and we're woefully ignorant to it.
Yet none of this is new. Solomon reminds us, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes" (Proverbs 16:2a). Bible Commentator Matthew Henry noted, "We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves: All the ways of a man, all his designs, all his doings, are clean in his own eyes, and he sees nothing amiss in them, nothing for which to condemn himself." In and of itself, this is the greatest tragedy because by not recognizing our own shortcomings, we are in no position to ask God to help us to correct them. It's no wonder Thomas Benton Brooks prayed, "Deliver me, O Lord, from that evil man, myself."
Scripture reminds us, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). When we accept Jesus as Lord, He forgives our sins and covers us with His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), but let's not lose sight of the fact that we are who we are, in Christ, because of God's grace. So, as we rub shoulders with others who may be struggling in different areas of their lives, let us think often of our own sin. It is only then we can be lenient to the sins and failures of others.
Have you ever looked at yourself using the Word as a mirror? Are you able to see yourself for who you truly are?
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