Our Tendency to Justify Ourselves (Proverbs 16:2)
Listen Here:
Proverbs 16:2
‘All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.’
Yesterday in Proverbs 20:9, we saw two core components of the gospel: man’s total corruption and his inability to make his heart clean. And this verse today builds on that, as we see a third component of the gospel, which is man’s tendency to self-deception.
‘If man were his own judge, who would be condemned?’ theologian Charles Bridges asks of this verse.
Not many, I’ll tell you that. We love to justify ourselves, do we not? It’s our default setting. No one ever had to teach you as a kid to justify yourself, just like how no one had to teach you to cry.
This is one of those verses where I feel like it’s so easy to read and instantly smile from ear to ear because you just know and feel its immediate relevance to your life. Whether it’s trying to explain away an argument, sidestepping a mistake at work, or overestimating our own good intentions, we all can and should see ourselves here.
We all know of our tendency to justify each and every action. It’s there in all of us, and it’s real. But this verse goes beyond just our actions – it challenges us to consider the deeper motivations of our hearts.
While we may be tempted to justify all of our ways and actions, God sees deeper than that. The second half of the verse says, ‘the Lord weighs the spirit’. He knows our hearts. He doesn’t just weigh our actions, but He looks to the spirit also. He doesn’t just look at the outward appearance, but He truly looks at the condition of the inner man and his heart. In other words, God doesn’t just care about what you do, but why you did it and what identity it sprang from.
And knowing that, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect: What drives our actions, really? What’s happening beneath the surface? Sometimes, even when we do good things, our hearts can be focused on ourselves – seeking recognition or approval instead of glorifying God. I mean, I confess I am guilty of doing selfless acts with selfish motives. So I think this verse causes us to question our motives.
I also think this verse should spur us toward humility and ultimately the cross. Like I said earlier, we should read this and see ourselves in this verse, saying, ‘Yes, that’s me. That’s me. I have a tendency to justify myself.’ And if you can’t see yourself in this verse, then this verse is 1000% about you because you’re guilty of justifying yourself!
So this verse should remind us of Proverbs 20:9, reminding us that we have no reason to justify ourselves. Why? Because we did not make our hearts pure; we did not make ourselves clean from sin.
Our justification is not found in ourselves; rather, it is found in Jesus Christ.
This truth humbles us and redirects our focus to Him.
So as you think about this verse today, ask yourself:
Where am I tempted to justify my actions instead of confessing my need for Jesus?
Are my motives God honoring?
How can I surrender my motives to God and allow Him to refine my heart?
Think about those questions, and let’s pray over those answers and this verse today. Let’s ask Him to search our hearts, purify our motives, and remind us of His grace through the cross.
