Matthew 7:3-5
How easy is it to look at someone else and realize what they are doing wrong? We often get so caught up in pointing the finger at someone else or judging them harshly without looking at ourselves first.
I see this a ton with my daughters. They are 3 and 5 years old. They are best friends but also sworn enemies, as any natural sister groups are. Lately, my oldest has been pointing out everything that her younger sister is doing wrong. Whether it is random things throughout the day, or especially when they are fighting about something. Typically, they are fighting over some kind of toy or how the other reacted harshly to them. When I go to try to calm them down and find out exactly what happened, they both will just start telling me what the other one did wrong. They also completely leave out any detail about what they, themselves, did wrong in any way. If my oldest hits her younger sister, she is always telling me what her sister did to her first. They are always trying to justify their actions, like we often do ourselves in our own lives as well. It is just easier to point out with children in ways. Just like most of us, children often will never look at what they did wrong first in any way, but will always be pointing it out about someone else.
In Matthew 7:3-5 we see this same concept with a great exaggeration used for an analogy. Why would we look at someone else and point out a speck of sawdust in their eye and not notice the log sticking out of our own?! I have always laughed at the picture of this. I tend to think of it like a cartoon character, and having an obnoxious log actually sticking out and swinging around as they turn their head. Instead of looking to judge someone first, let us examine ourselves and see if there is any wrong that we have done or anything that we need to see first. If we do that, then we are able to go to someone else and help point out what is in their life. We first must take care of the giant log in our own eye beforehand, or we can look like a fool.
We always hear that we are to keep each other accountable and to judge each other. May it be done correctly, though, and not just looking to find some tiny thing wrong with someone else first. It is important to humble ourselves and examine ourselves first. Then it is important to go to someone else out of real love and care for them, not in a judgmental way, to just point out what they might have been doing wrong. But always remember to check yourself first and to check your heart in every situation, it will greatly help you in dealing with conflict.
How easy is it to look at someone else and realize what they are doing wrong? We often get so caught up in pointing the finger at someone else or judging them harshly without looking at ourselves first.
I see this a ton with my daughters. They are 3 and 5 years old. They are best friends but also sworn enemies, as any natural sister groups are. Lately, my oldest has been pointing out everything that her younger sister is doing wrong. Whether it is random things throughout the day, or especially when they are fighting about something. Typically, they are fighting over some kind of toy or how the other reacted harshly to them. When I go to try to calm them down and find out exactly what happened, they both will just start telling me what the other one did wrong. They also completely leave out any detail about what they, themselves, did wrong in any way. If my oldest hits her younger sister, she is always telling me what her sister did to her first. They are always trying to justify their actions, like we often do ourselves in our own lives as well. It is just easier to point out with children in ways. Just like most of us, children often will never look at what they did wrong first in any way, but will always be pointing it out about someone else.
In Matthew 7:3-5 we see this same concept with a great exaggeration used for an analogy. Why would we look at someone else and point out a speck of sawdust in their eye and not notice the log sticking out of our own?! I have always laughed at the picture of this. I tend to think of it like a cartoon character, and having an obnoxious log actually sticking out and swinging around as they turn their head. Instead of looking to judge someone first, let us examine ourselves and see if there is any wrong that we have done or anything that we need to see first. If we do that, then we are able to go to someone else and help point out what is in their life. We first must take care of the giant log in our own eye beforehand, or we can look like a fool.
We always hear that we are to keep each other accountable and to judge each other. May it be done correctly, though, and not just looking to find some tiny thing wrong with someone else first. It is important to humble ourselves and examine ourselves first. Then it is important to go to someone else out of real love and care for them, not in a judgmental way, to just point out what they might have been doing wrong. But always remember to check yourself first and to check your heart in every situation, it will greatly help you in dealing with conflict.
Posted in Devotional