“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts” (Proverbs 21:2).

I posted yesterday about the graciousness of our God.  To understand “grace”, you need to understand that it is love that is undeserved, unmerited.  God doesn’t love us because we are good, He loves us because He chose to love.

Today’s proverb highlights that.  We might as well face up to it — we aren’t very good at measuring how good we are.  This is a common theme in the Proverbs.  Look at 16:2:  “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”  20:6 says, “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”

We are very skilled at convincing ourselves that we’re pretty good.  This is especially true if we’re in a conflict with someone — we seem to have a magnificent capacity to exonerate ourselves and blame “the other guy”.

The Bible tells us that the Lord is the one who weighs the heart to assess its quality.  The point is pretty obvious.  If you are trusting in your own assessment of your own righteousness, you are on thin ice in the middle of a loch, with clear water all around you, and the temperature is rising.  You are going to sink.