A Possibility: To Mean Right and Still Go Wrong

By A. W. Tozer

For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward
God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.       1Peter 2:19

    There are areas in our Christian lives where in our
effort to be right we may go wrong---so wrong as to lead
to spiritual deformity.

   To be specific, let me name a few .  .  .  .  .

   When in our determination to be bold, we become
brazen!  Courage and meekness are compatible qualities.
Both were found in perfect proportion in Christ, even in
conflict with His enemies.

    When in our desire to be frank, we become rude!
Candor without rudeness was always found in the man
Christ Jesus.  The Christian who boasts that he calls a
spade a spade, is likely to end by calling everything a
spade.

    When in our effort to be watchful we become
suspicious!  Because there are many adversaries, the
temptation is to see enemies where none exist, or to
develop a spirit of hostility to everyone who disagrees
with us.

    When we seek to be serious and become somber!
Gloominess is a defect of character, and should never be
equated with godliness.  Joy is a great therapeutic for the
mind.

    When we mean to be conscientious and become
overscrupulous!  If the devil cannot succeed in destroying
the conscience, he will settle for making it sick.  I know
Christians who live in a state of constant distress, fearing
that they may displease God.  They believe this self-torture
to be a proof of godliness, but how wrong they are!

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Yours in Christ,
  Paul N. F.