2 Corinthians 1:12 · World English Bible
For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.
The one boast worth having is a conscience that does not flinch when it looks at itself. The trap is the opposite pride, the clever wisdom that manages appearances while the inside stays cloudy.
From the Sufism reading below.
The same verse, read by one tradition.
SUFISM
The one boast worth having is a conscience that does not flinch when it looks at itself. The trap is the opposite pride, the clever wisdom that manages appearances while the inside stays cloudy. The cure is sincerity done for its own sake, especially where no one watches, until the inner witness can meet its own gaze without shame.
Even this clean conscience is not a private win. It is called grace on purpose, a gift working through the person, so the still, honest inside is really a place where God's kindness is reflected back.
Sufism lens
Where in my life am I managing how it looks instead of making it true?
The text says the noble person is watchful over himself when alone, because nothing is more visible than what is hidden. Character is tested where no one is looking.
He told himself to live so that if anyone asked what he was thinking, he could answer at once, without editing. A life that needs no cover story is its own quiet reward.
Dying, Yochanan ben Zakkai blessed his students that their fear of heaven would be as great as their fear of other people, since people only see the outside. The inner witness is never fooled.
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Sufism