Self-Justifying: The Besetting Sin Of Our Age

One weakness that is common to all mankind is self-justifying. Whatever we may do that seems wrong or unjust in other people's eyes, in our own we are always right. We can always adduce adequate reasons for whatever we may have done or said. Such reasons may not and often do not satisfy other people, especially those who may feel wronged or hurt by our acts or words; but they do satisfy us, and as far as we are concerned that is all that really matters. The whole process is what we mean here by the expression "Self-justifying". Through it  we preserve our own feeling of "always being right" which is precious to our Self-esteem. It is all done so unconsciously that it often requires diligent self-observation to make us aware of the extent to which we do self-justify. In fact, it may be regarded as an automatic reaction.

It is all part of that mechanical and automatic reaction to the events of life which Esoteric Psychology terms sleep. Man is fast asleep within himself, snuggle assuming that he is a fully conscious being, aware of all that he is doing and initiating activity in everything he undertakes whereas he is merely a mechanism blindly reacting to every situation and event that confronts him. Of all the mechanisms which sustain him in that feeling of smug self-satisfaction with himself, the Chief one is self-justifying. Through its automatic use in his life, man goes on living, feeling quite certain within himself that whatever he does or says or think is right, however much other people may contradict him. But they too, self-justify and so it is an unending process in which we are all involved, everyone self-justifying, and seeing where others may be wrong, but never really seeing what may be wrong in what they may be saying or doing.