Hate Your Own Work; Love the Work of God in You

God accuses your sins, and if you accuse them too, you are joined to God… You must hate your own work and love the work of God in you. And when your own deeds begin to displease you, that is when your good works begin as you begin to find fault with your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works, and then you do the truth and come to the light. How do you do the truth? You do not soothe or flatter yourself or say, “I am righteous,” while in actuality you are unrighteous. This is how you begin to do the truth. You come to the light so that your works may be shown to originate in God. And you have come to the light because this very sin in you, which displeases you, would not displease you if God did not shine on you and his truth show it to you.

Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John 12.13-14, in The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVa, 130.