“The Bible says "to thine own self be true."”

Those words belong to Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Scripture says the opposite of trusting yourself as your standard: lean not unto thine own understanding, but trust in the Lord with all thine heart.

Language does a lot of the work here. The word thine sounds like the King James Bible to a modern ear, and so a line of Elizabethan stage advice passes as a verse without anyone checking. Polonius says it to his son Laertes in a speech full of worldly counsel, and Shakespeare almost certainly meant the old man to sound a little foolish. The Bible's counsel runs the other way. Proverbs says to trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, and in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Jeremiah goes further and says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Being true to yourself is fine advice only if yourself is reliable, and Scripture's honest verdict is that it is not.

One word, every week.

Scripture, reflection, and one thing to carry with you.