Post by tomdurst on May 21, 2015 20:24:42 GMT -5
THE LOG IN YOUR OWN EYE
And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, "Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye," when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.—Matthew 7:3-5 NLT
When we focus on that which we perceive to be the faults or sins of someone else, most of the time in so doing, we are seeing ourselves as not nearly as bad in comparison. That very process creates a “log” in ourself and the fault of the other becomes a “speck” in comparison. The challenge for all of us is to FIRST get rid of the log in our own eye, i.e., focus on dealing with our own issues as the highest priority. Self-righteousness, seeing ourself as so much better than others, is worse than the terrible sin of the other, no matter how bad it may be. Why is this? Self-righteousness puts a wall around us that is impervious to making necessary corrections and changes. Self-righteousness puts us in great danger of becoming so hardened that we will never change our own life and thus grieve the Holy Spirit. The only way we can possibly help others overcome and come up on higher ground is by FIRST dealing with our own issues. When we do that, if there is something that we need to do to help another we will have guidance but we want to be SURE that it isn’t our own ego that is controlling us. In order to do that we must keep our own house clean. That is enough to keep us busy if we are really honest about it.
Please take some time to read these scriptures in your own Bible in their entirety and let the Holy Spirit convict you: Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 18:9-14.
I invite you to read THE MATTER OF JUDGING which is on the link below:
THE MATTER OF JUDGING
