Solomon says, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.” Prov. xxviii: 26. By a man trusting in his own heart, he means, having too much self-confidence. And the folly of this sort of trust is seen in this, that it keeps us from seeking the help of God; and without this help, we are not able to resist temptation when it overtakes us; and then we are sure to fall. We see a striking illustration of this in the case of Peter. When Jesus told the disciples that they would all forsake him, Peter had such trust in his own heart—such confidence in himself,—that he said, “Though all men forsake thee, yet will I never forsake thee.” And, when Jesus told him that, on that very night, he would deny him thrice, Peter, confidently, declared: “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” And, no doubt, he was perfectly honest in saying this. He meant just what he said. The trouble with him was that he did not know himself. He trusted too much in his own heart. His confidence in himself led him to neglect praying for the help and strength he would need when the temptation to deny his Master came before him.
And so, that very night, when Jesus was delivered into the hands of his enemies, and some of those about him said to Peter,—“Thou art one of this man’s disciples,” his courage failed him. He not only denied that he was a follower of Jesus, but even declared, with oaths and curses, that he did not know him. Here we see the folly of self-confidence, of which Solomon speaks.
And how many illustrations of this self-confidence we meet with!
“The Folly of a Soldier’s Self-Confidence.” When the English commander, General Braddock, in the early history of this country, was leading his little army through Pennsylvania to attack the French fort DuQuesne, where Pittsburgh now stands, George Washington, then a colonel, was an officer in the general’s staff. The French had enlisted the Indians on their side. Washington understood the mode of fighting which the Indians adopted. He knew their custom was to hide themselves in trees and fire upon their enemies without being seen.
As the English army was pursuing its march, not far from the fort they were to attack, they came to a dense forest through which they had to make their way. Washington knew that it was in just such a woody region that they might expect to find the Indians. He told General Braddock what he feared and suggested that he should command the army to halt, and send forward some scouts to examine the woods and find out if there were any Indians there before marching through. But the general had so much confidence in himself and in his own way of managing his army that he refused to listen to Washington’s advice.
The army entered the forest; but they had not gone far before they were fired upon from every side. The firing was kept up. The soldiers were falling to the ground, killed, or wounded; but no enemy was in sight, and no one could see where the firing came from. General Braddock and his chief officers were killed. The army was defeated; and Washington, the principal officer left alive, gathered their shattered ranks together; led them out from the woods and marched them back to the place from which they had started. The failure of that military enterprise, stands out on the page of history as a striking illustration of the folly of self-confidence.
“The Folly of a Sailor’s Self-Confidence.” The captain of a ship had brought his vessel to the entrance of the channel that leads to the harbor of one of the principal seaport towns of Scotland. He had often sailed in and out of that harbor. He felt confident that he could take the vessel in himself. When the pilot came and offered his services, he said: “No, I’ll be my own pilot. I know every rock in the channel. I am sure I can take the ship safely in.”
He started on his way. It was blowing a gale at the time. But he had not got far before the ship was dashed against a hidden rock of which he did not know. The vessel went to pieces, almost in sight of the harbor, and the captain and his crew were all lost. Here we see the folly of self-confidence.
But we often see this folly even when it does not lead to such fatal results as followed in the illustrations already given. This is clearly shown in the following fable: