Seeing Ourselves

Psalm 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

I'm teaching two English literature classes today in my daughter's High school class. It all came about when Lauren's teacher referred to Britain as 'England.' Lauren took offense at this, and reminded her teacher that Britain is made up of several nations, which includes Scotland. Thankfully, her teacher accepted what Lauren had to say and, in the ensuing conversation, I somehow got volunteered to teach two classes about Scotland's contribution to English literature, especially the works of Robert Burns, the world's greatest poet.

This verse from the psalmist reminded me of something that Burns once wrote. The psalmist talks about hidden faults, and how each of us are blind to all the mistakes that we make. In the past, ministers would calls these the 'sins of omission,' the things that we neglect to do, as well as the mistakes that we unconsciously commit. In one of his poems, Burns put it this way:

'O the pow'r that God wad gie us, to see ourselves as ithers see us.'
(O the power that God would give us, to see ourselves as others see us)

Sometimes, we are blind to the sins we commit and the mistakes that we make. If only we had the power to see ourselves making those mistakes, which others around us notice.

Perhaps today, we could all make a conscious effort to watch what we do or say; to be careful about the witness to Christ we project, to be aware that we are not perfect all of the time. And at the end of the day, as we make our confessions and give thanks to God in prayer, let's also remember to ask forgiveness for our hidden faults.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes we unknowingly hurt other people and offend You. Sometimes the things we say and do, or the things we neglect to say or do, cause us to disappoint others and sin against You. Help us to recognize our mistakes and give us the ways and means to make up for our sins of omission. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.