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Jacob Ninan

"Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts” (Prov.21:2 NASB)

This is one of the results of the Fall that we cannot think rightly about ourselves but only with favour. We tend to be hard on others and soft on ourselves. Partly because we are ignorant about large areas of our life and also because we naturally try to avoid pain and seek pleasure, we like to think of ourselves in a favourable light. Added to this, our focus on the mistakes other people make causes us to think we are not like that, and that gives us a somewhat high opinion about ourselves. What happens when someone points out our fault? Either we try to say that is not true, or if we are unable to do that we find some excuse for whatever we did wrong. So I think it is safe to say that we all have problems with high thoughts at some point or another.

When we have high thoughts about ourselves, it is jarring to people with whom we come into contact. They cannot enjoy being with us, whether it is at work, church or home. Most people will be polite with us on the outside, but in their mind they would be keeping a low opinion about us. In an assessment about our inter-personal skills, this will be negative point.

The antidote is not to think poorly of ourselves! We cannot be simply negating all the good things we notice in ourselves. That would be false humility. We are to think soberly, recognising the good things the Lord has worked in us, and also the things that have to be changed. There is comfort and encouragement in taking note of what the Lord has already done, but we also need honesty and humility to acknowledge where things are not acceptable.

Lord, You have done great things for me. But I admit that there is much more to be changed. Help me to think soberly about myself and act in humility.

Published in Management Devotional - Biblical insights for daily work life 2016, Christian Institute of Management.