Proverbs 20:27, 21:4 — The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.?A high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

At first sight, You might wonder why I put these two verses together. But more modern translations like the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version make the connection clear:

— The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. (Proverbs 20:27 ESV)
— Haughty eyes and a heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. (Proverbs 21:4 ESV)

So here’s the question. Which lamp will you use? Will you use the lamp which The Lord has given you for self examination or will you use the lamp — the advertisement of your worldly success — to focus your attention on those things that draw your attention away from the things if God?

The 19th century theologian Henry Cowles comments insightfully on says on these two verses from proverbs. First on 20:27 —

Let us see in this reflexive power one of the noblest features of man’s God-like nature. He can and may know himself, and therefore may prosecute the noble work of self-correction and self-culture. To know one’s faults or weaknesses is the first step toward correcting them. A being made capable of self-improvement must inevitably have before him a momentous destiny.

Then on 21:4 —

… lamp or light used figuratively to denote whatever the wicked most delight in and count most vital to their happiness. Since they are in rebellion against God, their lamp or light is precisely that which most sustains them in this rebellion, which constitutes their chief joy and chief reward in the ways of sin.

The choice is clear. Will you look inwards or outwards? The ability to look into our own selves is, as Cowles says, a feature of mans God-like nature. Paul echoes the thought in his first letter to the Corinthians: “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11 KJVA). The man or woman who rejects the opportunity of self examination is surely no better than a senseless brute.
Dreadful as the fate might be for those who refuses to examine their hearts for sin, those who insist on shining their light on some external source of joy may face a greater risk. Anything which attracts more attention than God is an idol, and idolatry must lead to damnation. I have said before that there are verses I am seeking to pay more attention to. These thoughts have brought them to the forefront of my mind again …

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

I will seek to use God’s lamp, not mine!