Introspection Required for Penitence

This is not a rule; it’s a tendency.

Apparently it’s shocking enough to our American culture that it warrants making a point of it on a regular basis. I’m not referring to having that inner conversation some of us keep running in our heads. That seems to be something you either have or don’t, based on DNA and some formative factors in your upbringing. Rather, this is more about the moral ability to see that you are a sinner.

This is what Paul meant about seeing yourself in a mirror, and then walking away totally forgetting what kind of moral condition you have. If you cannot see your sins, then you cannot repent. More to the point, if you cannot see that you are fundamentally flawed, you’ll never turn to the Lord.

I lived very close to someone who carried around major barriers to introspection. He choked when it was time to say, “Oops! I was wrong about that.” He wanted people to have the impression that he was never wrong. It was often said of him that he would argue with a fence post. But he was not merely hard-headed; he was hard-hearted.

To differentiate, let’s note that the proper biblical attitude about standing your ground is that you may well be wrong about facts, but that your convictions won’t let you take any other path. It’s an attitude that is placid in the face of conflict, because the outcomes don’t matter. What matters is the inner process of being faithful to your calling.

Thus, it’s never a question of being a winner or a loser. It’s always a question of being obedient. Your Master’s pleasure is the only guide. Hard-hearted people care only about their own pleasure, even if it comes off as a regime of “doing what’s right.” They have become their own law, and are determined to assert it over the rest of the world, as far as they can touch.