If we would judge ourselves, St. Paul tells us, we would not be judged.
When we look away from ourselves, to the mirror of God’s Word, and to the image of God imprinted on our brothers and sisters around us, we are brought to a true knowledge of ourselves. We cannot come to a true knowledge of ourselves through introspection, or morbid self-examination. Therefore a call to look away from your heart is not a call to ignore your own condition – rather, it is the only healthy way for you to ascertain your condition.
Look to God, look to your neighbor. Love God and love your neighbor. When you do this in true obedience, God grants to you a self-knowledge that is accurate, humble, contrite, and full of the confidence that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Look to yourself, and you will be sucked into a black hole that only the grace of God can free you from. This black hole is no less dangerous for acting pious and very devout – indeed, that is where the greatest danger lies. You are not permitted to look directly at yourself. How could you take out your eyeballs in order to look at them?
Those who think they are “looking at themselves” are actually looking at an acceptable, self-made filtered image, which is not in accordance with the Word.
Do you really want to know what you look like? Look to the Word. Look to the cross. Look to Christ in your neighbor. Confess your sins, and then take and eat. Take, and drink.