Thinking Yourself Something When You Are Nothing

📝Reflection

It is hard to deceive others but easy to deceive oneself. Paul names that self-deception precisely: thinking yourself something when you are nothing. The Greek phrenapatao means "to deceive one's own mind." People want to see themselves as larger than they are, and from that illusion they look down on others. If age has taught me anything, it is that seeing yourself accurately is the beginning of humility—seeing yourself as you are, neither inflating nor cutting yourself down. Only one with that honest eye can see others rightly.