"All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the LORD weigheth the spirits."
Proverbs 16:2
Part 1
Today: I Think I’m Okay!
“All the ways of a man.”
“The Ways”
Frequently in Proverbs, we read of “the way,” or “ways” of man and God. The meaning is often as simple as a literal “road, way,” or “path” a man travels down. But in our verse here, it is speaking of a man’s “direction…” where he is headed in life. Or we can say it is his “manner, habit,” or his “way” in how he does what he does. That is speaking of his “…course of life (figuratively)”[1] (BDB). How he lives and how he operates, which all starts with his heart, how he thinks of God and himself, “for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). This sets the direction of his life.
You have probably heard of “the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.” Who is to say if one way is right and the other is wrong? In this life, it seems like it’s “every man for himself!” This kind of thinking is at the heart of Godless existential philosophy. Existential thought suggests since life is pointless, anyone should do anything they want to give authenticity to their existence. Which, when carried out to its final conclusion, means that everyone can do whatever they want! The problem is when our wants meet up and clash, which they will — whose wants win? Mine, of course! ? This sounds like the people of Israel several times in their history.
“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).
“Are clean in his own eyes.”
Everyone has their own way and reasons for doing what they do and how they do them. But “every man’s way” cannot be right! Who is right and who is wrong? To make a judgment call regarding which “way” is correct, there must be an infallible standard by which we can measure our ways.
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: But he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise: (Proverbs 12:15).
Don’t we all tend to rationalize whatever we do? We cannot be “impartial judges” of our own thoughts and actions. Whether it is a result of our upbringing, pride, ignorance, or our Genesis 3 natures, we tend to pamper and please ourselves. This sin-nature we carry in us makes us believe that we each are alright, regardless of the facts. My pride tells me that if I am wrong, I can still feel good about myself when I look at others and see how wrong they are. Of course, they are worse off than I am! So, I still think I’m okay because those guys are so much worse than me! But the truth is,
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
If I have a faulty standard that I compare myself with, I will be wrong each time I look at my own norms. I must have God’s help to get an accurate picture of where I am on His scale.[2]
We all like to think that our motives and behaviors are pure and innocent (at least they are “in our own eyes”). Hopefully, we each have concluded that we need an outside source of truth to help us know what is right and wrong. We do not want to make decisions like a fool. We need God’s perfect counsel as that ideal standard to see how our ways stack up.
Tomorrow we will learn that God will judge a man for his motives. When it’s all said and done, what is in our hearts is what matters to God. See you then.
Quote: “There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who think they are sinners and the sinners who think they are righteous”[3] (Blaise Pascal).
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23; see also Romans 5:12).
[1] Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] God does not use a “sliding scale.” What He thinks and what He says goes! There is no other standard besides the Bible, God’s Book, where I can see the truth about myself!
[3] Pascal’s quote Downloaded: Monday, May 3, 2021. From: https://www.wisesayings.com/sinner-quotes/#ixzz6toNNMFLM.