Today, in Family Scripture Study, we read the Book of Omni, who apparently was pretty hard on himself, calling himself "a wicked man," and saying that he "[had] not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as [he] ought to have done." This seems to me like a good moment of self-reflection. None of us are perfect, and it's important for us to be aware of our faults so we can strive to overcome them.
However, it's easy for wholesome introspection to devolve into something harmful, self-deception. When we look at ourselves, it's easy to see ourselves as better or worse than we really are, either minimizing or maximizing out faults. Both are harmful to our spirits through either allowing our shortcomings to persist or by allowing them to dominate our self-image. We should not allow ourselves to become complacent nor discouraged, and that means that we must be honest with ourselves about exactly how well or poorly we're doing, spiritually.
Of course, it can be difficult to judge how we're doing. Our biases, our lack of perspective, and the influence of the adversary can all skew our judgment, turning our honest self-reflection into a mistaken self-deception. That's why we shouldn't necessarily rely on our own judgment to determine how wonderful or horrible we are.
Judgment belongs to the Lord. Let's let Him tell us how well we're doing and how we can improve. Let's let Him diagnose our spiritual ills and prescribe effective remedies. Let's reduce our risk of self-deception by stopping passing judgment on ourselves. It's good to consider what we're doing and how we're doing, but the ultimate answer of how good we are and what good we should do should come from God, not us.
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