Our proud confidence

2 Corinthians 1:12 - "For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you."

Often, my confidence - or lack of it - comes from my perception of what other people think of me or of what I have done. But Paul's example shows us that our confidence ought to come from our own conscience. Can we say that we have conducted ourselves in holiness and godly sincerity? Even though those things (holiness and godly sincerity) do not guarantee that we won't make mistakes or that people won't misunderstand us, they should give us confidence.