A New Light

“All a man’s ways seem right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the motives.” (Proverbs 16:2)

We all engage in self-justification when it comes to our own actions or behaviors. Self-justification is as normal to us as breathing air. We mostly don’t even notice it. We don’t like the idea that our actions might be wrong, so we rationalize them and justify them to ourselves, and we generally do so without even noticing ourselves doing it.

The Lord, on the other hand, looks on the heart and into the recesses of the mind. He is able to examine our motives and our true purposes and goals for all our actions and behaviors. He sees motives.

Maybe one of the best things we could be part of, one that that could open our eyes to a greater self-awareness and, consequently, lead to a greater humility would be to ask God to shine His light and help us see the motives behind our actions from His perspective. This could then help us to have not only a clearer perspective about our actions but could also lead as well to either a change in behavior or even to a decision to not engage in some action. Such an endeavor could bear out what Stuart Akins (The Name of Your Game) suggests: Self-awareness (knowledge) is the gateway to growth.

Lord, Open our eyes today to see what You see about our actions and behaviors, so that our motives behind them are clear. Then, help us to proceed forward only as You lead. Amen.