“Let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor 10:12)
This warning from St. Paul is intended to protect us from living with a false sense of security.
Certainly, our Heavenly Father wants to give us the security of His love, and we know that we will always find refuge in it. We can also walk our path of following Christ with confidence and do not have to question ourselves hypercritically at every step.
However, there is a false sense of security addressed in the passage from the Letter to the Corinthians. It is fed by human nature and based on our own convictions. In this case, one’s own weakness is ignored, and one moves within an illusion rooted in self‑overestimation. This can happen even to devout people! A biblical example is found in some Pharisees who were filled with such false security and often did not notice the spiritual danger they were in.
This and other examples should make us vigilant. It is important to heed the advice of spiritual teachers: we should be trusting and open toward God, yet watchful against deceptions that arise from our fallen nature with its easily influenced feelings. False self‑confidence is one of these deceptions.
Let us therefore take care to always consult our Father and live in intimate communion with Him. We can take the words of the psalm to heart: “See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Ps 139,24)
If we also ask our Father to teach us at the slightest sign of arrogance or self‑deception, then we are applying the words of the Apostle correctly—anchoring our security in our Heavenly Father and remaining vigilant against deviations.