"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? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Jesus reminds us in his Sermon on the Mount about a destructive sin that often afflicts his followers: trying to deflect our guilt by finding fault in others. Finding fault with someone else is too easy for most of us. Finding fault in ourselves is much trickier. Jesus reminds us that we must deal with the shortcomings and sins in our own lives before we start telling others how to live. Deflection, blaming, and finding fault are destructive to our allegiance to the
Lord and our desire to honor him. So, let's confess our sins (
James 5:16) and not find fault in others (
Matthew 7:1-2). Seems pretty simple. But we all know it isn't. So, dear friend of Jesus, let's pray for the Holy Spirit's help to be gracious and forgiving toward others, and humbly confess our faults to one another (
Matthew 18:23-35)
Father, please forgive me because I have sometimes been severe, harsh, and judgmental toward others. I am aware that there are issues in my own life that I need to address with the guidance of your Holy Spirit. I confess that there are routine sins that I often excuse. Please, dear Lord, forgive my sins of deflecting my guilt, blaming others, and finding fault in others. Please empower me to move beyond it to become a more gracious and redemptive disciple of Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
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