The Plank

How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? Matthew 7:4

When I am more concerned with the sin of others, it is easy to amplify what someone else does and minimize my own faults. I need to stop and look through my own faults before trying to judge someone else. And then I need to take the times to actually address my own sins and faults. In doing so, I will likely forget about the other person’s stuff. It’s also possible that if they see me making changes based on my own self-examination and seeking the Lord and they might begin to work on their own faults.

Ultimately I’m responsible for me. If I see something in others that bothers me, I need to explore my own life. I have found often that I often have similar things going on and God is using them to get my attention, not so I can tell them to change. I can certainly pray the Lord to help the other person, but first I need to ask the Lord to deal with my heart.

Lord, please show me any planks, sticks, or splinters that I have in my life. Help me Lord to be more focused on what I need to change in my life than what others need to do. I ask these things in Jesus name amen.