There is something in us that instinctively compares. We measure ourselves against others—almost always to our advantage. We see their faults with clarity, while our own sins feel distant, justified, or softened by explanation. Comparison becomes a quiet refuge for pride, a way of appearing clean without being holy.
Jonathan Edwards understood how dangerous this instinct is. In his eighth resolution, he aims directly at the heart of spiritual pride. Rather than using the failures of others to elevate himself, Edwards resolves to let their sins humble him. He commits to speak and act as though no one were more vile than he, allowing what he observes in others to drive him not toward judgment, but toward confession before God.
Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings, as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.
Jonathan Edwards
Seeing Sin for the Glory of God
Edwards refuses to treat the sins of others as a measuring stick by which he proves his superiority. Instead, he treats them as a mirror, revealing what lives in his own heart. Scripture teaches that the same root sins dwell in every fallen soul. Paul reminds believers, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:22–23).
This perspective reshapes how we see others. When we observe anger, lust, pride, or deceit, we are not witnessing a foreign disease but a familiar one. Jesus warns against moral blindness when He asks, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3). Edwards resolves to live as though the log were always his first concern.
Embracing Shame for the Glory of God
Edwards takes it a step further. He lets the failures of others produce shame in himself. This is not despair, but proper self-knowledge before a holy God. Isaiah, when confronted with God’s glory, did not look outward but cried, “Woe is me! For I am lost” (Is. 6:5).
Shame, in this sense, is humility. It is the recognition that apart from grace, we would fall just as easily—perhaps more so. Paul echoes this posture when he calls himself “the foremost” of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). Edwards resolves that every exposure of sin would drive him lower before God, not higher above men.
Confessing Misery for the Glory of God
Finally, Edwards resolves that the failures of others would become occasions for confession. Instead of fueling gossip or criticism, they would send him to the foot of the cross in prayer. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,” John writes, “but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us” (1 Jn. 1:8–9).
This posture guards the unity of the church and cultivates personal holiness. When sin leads to prayer instead of pride, the soul is softened. Humility, Edwards reminds us, is not passive but practiced—resolved again and again before God.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). Resolved for humbling glory begins low before God, gentle toward others, and honest about ourselves.
