It was one of the old Psalm writers who said, “I thought on my ways.” It is not likely that he found it a very easy thing to do. It is usually very much harder to think on our own ways than on other people. Most of us do quite enough of the latter. We keep a magnifying glass to inspect our neighbour’s life, a high-power microscope to hunt for specks in his character; but too often we forget to use our glasses on ourselves, or, if we do, we reverse them, and thus minify every spot and imperfection. The Pharisee in the temple confessed a great many sins, but they were his neighbour’s sins and the publican’s sins; he made no confession at all for himself. Most of us are in the same danger. We like to think of our ways when they are good — it flatters our vanity to be able to approve and commend ourselves; but when our conduct has not been particularly satisfactory, we like to turn our backs upon it, and solace ourselves by thinking on our neighbour’s naughty ways. And here, strange to say, it seems to please many of us best to find things we cannot approve or commend.
It is a brave thing for a man to say, “I will think upon my own ways,” and says it when he knows his ways have not been good and right, but wrong. It is an excellent thing for us to turn our lenses in upon our own hearts, in order to see if our own ways are right. There is only one person in all the world for whose ways any of us are really responsible, for whose life any of us must give account, — and that is one’s self. Other people’s wrong ways may pain us and offend ours sense of right; and it is our duty to do all we can, in the spirit of Christ, to lead our neighbours into better ways. But, after all, when we stand before God’s judgment-seat, the only one person in the whole world for which any one of us will have to give account will be one’s self. Certainly it is most important, then, that we give earnest heed to ourselves and our own ways.
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