It’s important to read Luke, 16:15 when we’re examining our conscience. “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”
We should remember that advice when we want something. Usually, when we think of buying something, or going somewhere, we usually find ourselves rehearsing what we will tell others about it.
“I didn’t really want a Rolex, but . . .”
“I really didn’t need an engraved, nickel-plated Colt .45 owned by a general in the Spanish-American War, but . . .”
“I just wanted a full-length mink coat.”
“It’s not his best work, but it has a certain quality that’s missing in so much of what he did, so I had to have it.”
“Most tourists don’t go there this time of year, but I find it’s the perfect time to get to know the people.”
We may recognize similar thoughts in our own behavior as we “justify ourselves in the sight of others” because that’s what all those sentences do. For a specific insight into our own self, we may try to fill in the following blank:
“I already have several ________s, but this one is so (much nicer, cheaper, newer, more distinctive) that I just have to have it.”
Before going any farther, fill in that blank with the first word that comes to mind. Really. Just stop for a couple of seconds, go back, re-read the sentence, and think of the word you’d use.
If we fill in that blank, and then re-view the passage from Luke, 16:15, we understand that the word we’ve put in the blank is an insight as to what God may think is a manifestation of our worst feature.
It is very probable that we will find one of the things God finds most abominable about us is the fact that we spend so much time thinking about the various words we put in the blank and not about Him.
