Luke 6:39-42
"'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, "Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.'"
The Lord clearly taught us here that before we remove the speck of sawdust in our brother's eye, we must remove the plank in our own eye first. We, however, usually first notice the problems with other people's life, or what they have done to hurt us, but we forget that we are indebted to them even more. When you read this passage, you might think that it doesn't really describe your situation, because you indeed only have a speck of sawdust in your eye, but he has a plank in his eye; his sin is much more serious than mine and he has mistreated me before I mistreated him.
The "sawdust" and "plank" here actually do not refer to the size of the sin each one committed. We like to look at the outside and compare the magnitude or order of the mistakes people and we committed. It might be true that others have committed greater sins than you have, but the "plank" Lord mentioned here does not describe the severity of a sin, but rather the spirit of criticism.
When we have the spirit of criticism inside us, no matter what others do, they won't look right to us and we'll keep on complaining and holding grudges against them. The spirit of criticism can ruin your interpersonal relationships, and also your relationship with God. You will be able to see others with the eyesight of the Lord after you remove the spirit of criticism, and others will not sense bitterness and complaint because the wisdom given by the Lord will resolve any interpersonal conflicts.
When you say ten phrases to someone, if only one phrase has the tone of your sinful nature, then that's the only phrase the person will hear, and he will respond with the same. Others can sense that we have the spirit of criticism or we're speaking out of our sinful nature. In the same manner, if we are filled the forgiveness and love of the Lord, others will also feel the difference. May God help us to battle this spirit of criticism, and let us become a channel for His grace, and let His forgiveness and joy flow to those around us. Are there people around you who are really hard to deal with? May God help us to remove the spirit of criticism, and give us a fresh spirit to deal with our interpersonal relationships wisely.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.