3: For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
4: But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5: For every man shall bear his own burden.

The Amplified Bible says, ‘let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work.’  We are better off to judge and examine ourselves now according to the Word of God to see how we compare.  As we examine ourselves and scrutinize ourselves then we can rejoice in what we do and we won’t need to boast or compare ourselves to each other to find joy or satisfaction.

If we are looking for self-worth or personal satisfaction by comparing ourselves to others than we will not want to think highly of others.  We won’t want to help them overcome or encourage them to grow.  Our personal satisfaction needs to come from within.  It comes as we compare and judge ourselves according to the Word of God, not others.

If we say, ‘well at least I’m not as bad as that person’, then we’re not comparing ourselves to the Word of God and to Jesus Christ and we’re not doing what this verse says to do.

He says we’ll all bear our own burdens yet he just got done saying to bear one another’s burdens.  Ultimately we are each responsible for ourselves.  We can help others out of their troubles, but each person is responsible for their actions in the end.

Confession: