Always Right

I’m usually right, aren’t you? Sometimes I’m misunderstood, but rarely wrong. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. All of us are guilty, if we’re honest.Just a few weeks ago, I made a comment to Chris that offended him. I didn’t realize it at the time. When he later mentioned that he was offended, my immediate thought was not of remorse. I rationalized, “What you don’t realize is that you offended me first.” Sadly, my first response was to justify what I said, not to care about how the offense made him feel. It’s amazing how strong our sense of self-righteousness can be, even with those we love dearly.Shortly after that occurrence, I came to Proverbs 16:2 that smacked me upside the head.

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,but the Lord weighs the spirit.”

Another translation says the Lord weighs the motives. I was quickly reminded how we’re all horrible self-evaluators. That’s not some writer’s catchy phrase. That’s a reality etched in Scripture. We’re easily deceived. We even deceive ourselves. Whether it’s the plan for our life or how we approach a particular person or situation, we cannot be lulled into believing our thoughts don’t need to be held up for examination.Where in your life would an onlooker question your approach or decision? What in your life would take a lot of explaining and justifying to the Lord? Is there something you prefer to keep compartmentalized so no one else can know enough to have input?While this is a lousy analogy, see if you follow me. Every time I write a message, I run it by Chris. Sometimes I don’t want to. I like my ideas and don’t usually want someone questioning them. I have spent a long time studying and don’t like the thought that something might need to be scrapped. As a writer, this is called “killing your darlings.” You work so hard to write something that you fiercely protect it from the chopping block. I know, however, that I would be foolish not to have him look at it and give me wisdom from his much greater knowledge of Scripture and experience as a communicator. I have to swallow my pride to receive his help… but every time I do, my message is stronger.For our own good, we must be willing to open our eyes to the reality that we can’t see clearly. The Lord alone knows the motives of our hearts. The author of Proverbs goes on to tell us what we must do and why:

“Commit your work to the Lord,and your plans will be established.”

Just like I must open up my latest message and be willing to humbly receive feedback, we must each be willing to open up our lives and our plans and be willing to humbly adjust according to God’s higher ways. As nerve-wracking as this may seem, it’s when we humbly commit our efforts to Him that our plans can be established.Do you want to move forward with plans that are not of the Lord? Of course not… me neither. He graciously wants us to come to Him, learn from Him, and experience the blessing of Him establishing our plans. So, come on. What do you need to stop keeping to yourself and allow the perfect hand of God to edit and establish? You will never regret what you entrust to Him… only what you hold too tightly. twitter | facebook