Plank, anyone?

"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice or consider the log that is in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite (play actor, pretender), first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye."  Luke 6:41-42

How do we see other's faults so clearly...and yet we don't see our own?  I've got the remedy for that!  Actually, God has the remedy but I've learned what it is.  We're told in Proverbs that just like water reflects what it sees, another man's heart reflects our heart.  I believe what that means is that whatever we see in another person's life that irritates us is actually true in our own lives.  Just like the verses in Luke, the speck is made out of the very same material as the log.  They're both wood.  We're looking at the other person's speck and want to point it out to them when the very same thing is true in our own lives...in much bigger proportions.

Let me give you an example.  Andy is a perfectionist about many things.  He likes his clothes hanging a certain way and for things to be neat and tidy.  My closet looks nothing like his and it doesn't bother me for things to be a little disorderly.  So one day, his perfectionism was driving me crazy.  But knowing the speck/log principle, I went to God and said, "OK.  So if it's true that what I'm seeing in Andy is also true in my own life, You're going to have to show me.  Because I am NOT a perfectionist!"  Let me tell you...God is fast.  Within 10 seconds, He told me, "Becky, you're a spiritual perfectionist."  Wow.  I let that sink in for a few minutes and was devastated when I understood what that really meant.  A spiritual perfectionist is nothing more than a Pharisee.  Someone who desires spiritual order so much in their life, that they even create rules to live by.  Rules that  God doesn't even demand.  And it's hard to be a good Pharisee without imposing those rules on others.  This was not what I signed up for!  I humbled myself and asked God to remove the plank from my eye.  Andy's speck didn't look so big or offensive after all.

I've become a student of this.  I've observed people who complain about issues in other people's lives.  And you know what?  It's true.  They don't even know that the very thing they're complaining about is also true in their own lives.  In fact, it's been my observation that most of the time, it's eerily close...sometimes down to the very last detail.

So before you complain about the speck in someone else's eye, you might want to ask God for a mirror....a very BIG mirror!