God created man in his own image. The most basic feature of this image of divinity is intelligence. By it man possesses an awareness of self. And through it man has the capabilities for thought and speech. The remarkable consequence is that man is able to think about himself and to talk to himself. He is not only capable of self-contemplation and self-examination, but also self-conference – he can consult with himself.

As with every other aspect of man, this reflection of divinity was corrupted when man transgressed the law of God and became enslaved to an evil nature. Now when a sinner talks to himself, he lies to himself. The Bible says that, although God has made his nature and his power evident to men, so that they know about him, in their wickedness they have suppressed this truth (Romans 1:18-20).

Some non-Christians find that they need to scream louder and louder to remain convinced, so that they even make a profession out of their unbelief. Perhaps the lies that they tell themselves might remain intact for a little longer if they can secure approval from other people, or if they can even baffle a few of those who affirm the reality of God, the very reality that threatens to erupt from their own minds and obliterate their sanity. The Bible says that they know about God’s righteous standard and about the punishment ordained for offenders (Romans 1:32, 2:15), but because they are evil, and because they are feeble and dishonest in their intellects, they persist in their rebellion and wickedness (Romans 1:21-22).

Then, some unbelievers cannot even stand to lie to themselves about God, sin, and judgment. They prefer not to talk to themselves at all. So as much as possible, they spend their lives with other people, surrounded by noise and chatter. They could talk for hours about sports, music, politics, and sometimes even about religion, as long as it is to mock it, and as long as there is no personal application, or direct confrontation about their own spiritual state. It could be that they are extroverts, but some are so much so that the easier explanation is that they are terrified to face the truth about God. They loathe themselves, and they seek distraction from themselves. The alternative is suicide.

If they were to talk to themselves in honesty, there would be nothing good to say. The Bible says that non-Christians are without God and without hope in this world. They are pathetic and despicable now, and before them is only the guarantee of endless regret, pain, and hellfire. Their self-help manual suggests that they tell themselves, “Every day in every way, I am getting better and better.” But if the self-talk of non-Christians has any chance to truly help, they ought to look into the mirror every morning and say, “Every day in every way, I am closer to hell, closer to endless pain, endless misery, endless fire that burns my soul and my body, never waning, never relenting. Every day in every way, I am closer to facing the God who will damn me without chance of pardon. I…I am afraid. I cannot help myself. I need someone to save me.”

On the other hand, if we have faith in the Lord Jesus, it means that he has rescued us from this depressing condition. Now there is a basis for hope! Now truth empowers and rejuvenates! Now God is beautiful to us! We perceive many imperfections in us, but now we can face them. We do not fear that God will reject us for our wrongs, because our faith is a manifestation, an indication, of our unbreakable association with Christ, and God has already accepted him. Now in the secret chambers of our minds, we talk to ourselves about God, our sins, and the salvation that he has sent in Jesus Christ. And the more we speak to ourselves on the basis of this truth and this hope, the more we increase in knowledge, character, and strength. Neither are we afraid to face our remaining sins and call them what they are. We can be honest with ourselves and rebuke ourselves, and implore God to make us wiser, stronger, purer, by his Holy Spirit. In Christ, even when we scold ourselves, there can be an inner harmony. Our inner knowledge and inner conference agree.

In the Christian, intelligence has again become a blessing, and self-conference has again become profitable. If we have received training from the word of God, we often know what to say to another person in order to teach, remind, encourage, or rebuke him. Yet we sometimes do not take our own advice, because we do not give ourselves the same advice. Do not remain silent when it comes to your own affairs and your own spiritual condition. Preach to yourself. Encourage yourself. Rebuke yourself. Speak to yourself on the basis of the word of God, and stimulate yourself to greater heights in the faith of Jesus Christ.