Seeing The Truth About Ourselves

A man was having difficulty communicating with his wife and grew very frustrated and critical. He concluded that she must be becoming hard of hearing, so he decided to conduct a test without her knowing about it. One evening he sat in a chair on the far side of the room. Her back was to him and she could not see him. Very quietly he whispered, "Can you hear me?" There was no response. Moving a little closer, he asked again, "Can you hear me now?" Still no reply. Quietly he edged closer and whispered the same words, but for the third time there was no answer. Finally, he moved right in behind her chair and said, "Can you hear me now?" To his surprise and chagrin she responded with irritation in her voice, "For the fourth time, yes!"

I don’t know if you can relate to that story, but I certainly can. I have often blamed Bonnie only to find out later that it was my fault for my lack of hearing.

One of the things my Mother taught me is to remember that when I point my finger at someone, I’ve got 3 other ones pointing right back at me. That was her way of saying, “When you are tempted to be critical of others, first examine your own life.”

Jesus said it this way,

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Mat 7:1-5 NIV)

But how do we examine ourselves unless we can find an unbiased opinion? I believe Proverbs 21:2 gives us the principles to follow concerning where we can go to find a truthful assessment of ourselves.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2 ESV).

We see three principles to be applied in our lives concerning this verse.
1. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes” – When there is no recognized authority or standard of truth, then one man’s “way” is as valid as another man’s “way”. That was true in the time of the Judges in Israel. The Bible says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6 NASB).

2. “the Lord weighs the heart” – The picture here is that God weighs the “scales” of truth; that God has determined and judges what is true. It is God that we will answer to in our lives for our actions, by His standard and His alone.

3. “the Lord weighs the heart” – The picture also is that God weighs the heart – the motives behind our actions. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. He sees our hearts and knows our thoughts and motives (Psalms 139:2). The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jer 17:9 NKJV) Only God can truly see and give us guidance into assessing our motives and actions.

It is through God’s Word, His standard that we can assess what is right and what is wrong. God’s Word is not subjective but objective – it is black and white. God’s Word, the Bible, is not just another man’s opinion but His truth. We need to submit to God’s Word and His assessment of our lives so that we can experience the abundant life that Jesus has provided for us.

Thank God that we are not left to our own opinions or the opinions of men but God has provided a revelation of Himself and His ways that we are to walk in. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psa 119:105 NIV)

May God’s Word be our lamp as we walk together in His light!