Scripture:
Luke 6:39-42 ESV
[39] He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? [40] A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher. [41] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? [42] How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me 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, 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.
Observation:
I’m going to be honest after yesterday, it’s hard to write this morning. But I promised when I started this to live as transparently as I knew how. So, let’s dive in. These are words that, if you have a red letter addition, would be jumping off the page. Because it’s something our LORD and SAVIOR spoke. The point behind verse 39 is that someone who can’t see the truth has no business leading anyone else. Because they will both end up in a big mess. The next verse is just as revealing. Jesus is saying that those who you are discipling will end up just like you. So be careful what you are teaching. His next statement really has to do with looking at how someone else acts and pointing out their wrong and never really looking at the wrong inside yourself. We talked about hypocrisy the other day, and here it is again. Honestly, that’s not what I was trying to do. However, it’s in the bible a lot, so it’s something that we need to take an honest look at. I believe that what Jesus is saying in these verses is that we need to be willing to look at the sins that is in our lives before we go pointing out the sins of others. Otherwise, how can you point out someone else when you are no better and in fact may be worse?
Application:
The 4th step in the recovery program’s 12 steps says: we made a fearless and searching moral inventory. This can be a very scary part of the program for a lot of us. It has to do with taking a deep look at who you are. The problem with the process of this step is that it’s really hard to look at our faults. It’s so much easier to point out someone else who has sinned and shed light on it than it is to take a deep look at who we are. I just want to be honest here… your sin is not my problem… mine is. If I can’t look at mine and deal with it, then I have absolutely no right to look at yours. The inventory process has nothing to do with what others have done but with your part in all the moral issues and the root of them. It’s an inventory of me. Who I am, what makes me tick my morals and values. Here is the problem when we look at others and we see something we don’t like or see as sin, the reason it’s so easy to identify is because we have that very same issue. Whether or not we are willing to admit it… now that’s another story. It seems a lot easier to take your inventory than it is to take mine. So here is a great way to fix that problem… Go ahead and take that person’s inventory, and when you are done, erase their name and place yours where theirs was. My point is this… what we see and don’t like in others is easy to identify because it’s who we are inside. Of we would just be the change we want to see. Things would be substantially different. Focusing on ourselves and eliminating our sins would change everything. It’s my sin. That is my problem. Not yours. Your sin may have some effect on me, but it’s only because I have sin in my life as well. I know that being unwilling to take a look at my part and change what I have done wrong will change nothing about the world and how it operates. If I am so willing to correct you and what you have done. But I can not look at me as I am the problem. Meeting others with the same grace we expect to be met with can make a difference. My challenge to you this morning is this. When you see something in someone that you find offensive, honestly, look inside yourself. Can you say that you are not or have not been that way?? My guess is you have a little bit of the same behavior hidden deep inside. So here is what I’m going to do. I’m going to spend my time dealing with my sin, and you spend your time dealing with yours, and together, we can change the world.
Prayer:
Father, help me to look inward when I see problems with the world. Help me to identify my part and fix it. The last thing I want to be is a hypocrite. Willing to look at everyone else’s sin and never deal with mine. There is no such thing as self-righteousness because it is impossible to be righteous in and of myself. No matter how far we walk with you, we will always be in need of your grace. There is no way around it. We want our lives to change, and that can not happen if we are more concerned about the sins of others than we are about ours. Help us to look inward and see who we are, and change accordingly. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.