It takes courage to look our own sins in the face, and to deal with them as we would counsel another to do, if the sins were his. It was one of the old psalm-writers who said, “I thought on my ways.” It is not likely that even he found it an easy thing to do. It is usually very much harder to think on our own ways than on other people’s: most of us do quite enough of the latter. We keep a magnifying-glass to inspect our neighbour’s life, a high-power microscope to hunt for specks in his character; but too often we forget to use our glasses on ourselves, or, if we do, we reverse them, and thus minify every spot and imperfection. The Pharisee in the temple confessed a great many sins, but they were his neighbour’s sins and the publican’s sins: he made no confession of sin for himself. Most of us are in the same danger. We like to think of our ways when they are good, — it flatters our vanity to be able to approve and commend ourselves; but, when our conduct has not been particularly satisfactory, we like to turn our back upon it, and solace ourselves meanwhile by thinking on our neighbour’s evil ways. And here, strange to say, it seems to please many of us best to find things we cannot approve or commend. One of the last lessons of Christian charity which most of us learn, is to rejoice with others in their attainments of character, and to be pained and grieved when we find blemishes and stains in their lives.
But it is a brave thing for a man to say, “I will think upon my own ways,” and to say it when he knows his ways have not been good and right, but wrong. It is an excellent thing for us to turn our lenses in upon our own hearts, in order to see if our own ways are right. This should always be our first duty. We should take heed to ourselves before we try to look after the mistakes of others, and point them out. There is only one person in all the world for whose ways any of us are really personally responsible, for whose life any one will be required to give account, — and that is one’s self. Other people’s wrong ways may pain us, and offend our sense of right; and it is our duty to do all we can, in the spirit of Christ, to lead our neighbours into better ways: but, after all, when we stand before God’s judgment-seat, the only one person in the whole world for whom any of us will have to be judged will be one’s self. Certainly it is most important, then, that we give earnest heed to ourselves and our own ways in this world.
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