“Specks and Planks”

Devotional – Wednesday, June 15, 2022

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3-4, NLT)

Why does it always seem easier to see the faults in others than in ourselves? I suspect it has a lot to do with perspective. When something is up close, it can be hard to make out the details, but held out a little from us and it comes into sharp focus. Maybe that’s why Jesus called out those who are quick to point out specks of sawdust as hypocrites. Each one of us has guilt on our hands, dark areas in our hearts, sin that lurks wanting to erupt into open rebellion against God. But rather than acknowledge the ugliness of our own spiritual conditions, which requires a good deal of confession, repentance and submission to God, it is easier to compare ourselves to others and focus on their areas of weakness. Subconsciously, we may attempt to quiet the nagging voice of guilt over our own spiritual condition, by finding others we think are worse than us.

But Jesus gives us much incentive not to take this approach. He tells us clearly that the measure we use to judge another is the same one that will be applied to us when he comes as the Judge. The need for us to own up to and acknowledge our own ‘stuff’ is of paramount importance. We need to stop comparing our faithfulness to God with anyone else. We have a much higher bar to consider…that of Jesus himself! And until we, as Jesus’ disciples, fully mirror the One we follow we have enough work to do on our own lives that we should not be looking around at other people’s faults.

Pastor Jane