Seemingly Justified

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. _{Proverbs 21:2}

As a Christian, I don’t think that any of us want to do wrong, go the wrong way, or make a wrong decision. Sometimes, however, we react negatively to a situation but feel that we had no choice, or that our hand was forced in some way.

It is not surprising at all that we can justify every single thing we do, either to ourselves or to others. “I couldn’t see another way out.” “It felt like the only possible course of action.” “It was the right thing to do at the time, but would I do the same again? Probably not.”

All plausible and seemingly justifiable explanations, but is our conscience always clear? On one of the many occasions that the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus, he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart.”

Regardless of what we may tell ourselves at times, God is fully aware of the motive behind everything we do. We may be able to fool others, but we can never fool God.

Spending time with God in personal daily reflection helps us to consider our ways and helps to keep our motivations tethered to his Spirit.