Inspecting the Lumber

In a season of watching people do stupid things that hurt the people that they love or claim to love, it appears ultimately that selfishness wins over self-sacrifice. These folks who once believed, fall by the wayside, one by one. This has eventually led me to do some looking at the logs growing in my own eyes. That’s not a bad thing! In fact, Jesus requires this time of introspection. Not only does it bear the fruit of humility, it reinforces our desperate need for Him in spite of all our self-confidence and many accomplishments. Dependency on Jesus for our very breath is always a good thing, even being the true mark of a disciple. 

In Jesus' own words, we read in Matthew 7:1-6 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.  Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.”