Excerpt from The Biblical World, Vol. 45
Some people seem to think that it is beneath their dignity to attend to their own spiritual needs. They can work for others, sacrifice for others, pray for others, and, if need be, die for others, but when it comes to thinking about themselves they appear to regard spiritual self-preservation as a culpable form of selfishness.
It is not difficult to discover the origin of this singular perversion of altruism. There have been altogether too many people whose one object of life was to discover means of getting into heaven, and in the search for that blessing they have found no time for treating others as they were trying to treat themselves. Reaction from this sort of egoism accounts for much of the indifference shown by earnest people to their own spiritual advancement. They are ready to go into bankruptcy if the Creditor so decides, but they are not ready to take account of stock of their spiritual assets.
Introspection, we may admit, is not always healthful, but a life without introspection is very likely to go the way of an orchard where no one looks for grubs and parasites. To be sure, one may be so interested in good work as, like Wilberforce, not to have time to consider whether he himself is saved. But such an attitude makes a better epigram than an example. The man who never weighs his motives, never measures his spiritual development, never questions whether his good works are the product of genuine interest in his fellow-men or of membership on social service committees, will be likely to lack intelligent self-estimate. He will always be likely to mistake altruistic restlessness for growth in grace.
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