Look In The Mirror First
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” -- Matthew 7:1-2
The other day a man loudly proclaimed his upset at his ex-wife, with whom he still shares a house. She had accused him of stealing from her and, of course, it just wasn’t true. She is insane, the man insisted. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I’ve not doubt his ex probably is crazy. She didn’t just get that way. But that wasn’t what made me shake my head in disbelief. This same man had accused me of horrible things, based entirely on the assertions of someone he barely knows. It was easy to latch on to the lies. He knew better.
And here he was just a few weeks later experiencing the same type of unfair accusations -- and expecting sympathy from me. I held my tongue, though admittedly not because I was wise. I was just amazed at his audacity. He was oblivious. He didn’t see that what his ex-wife had done to him, he had done to me.
Isn’t that often how it is? We can’t see that plank in our own eye because we’re so busy pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye. I wonder what it would take for us to realize that speck we see is really a reflection of ourselves rather than a mark on the other person?
It is so easy to see the flaws in others and determine how best for them to fix those flaws. It keeps us from focusing on fixing ourselves. Or even realizing that we need to be fixed.
We all have flaws. We all have areas where we fall short of the glory of God. Each of us should consider first how we can best fix ourselves and leave the fixing of others to God.
