Whittle the Beam

~~~ Genesis 12:1-9 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Matthew 7:1-5 ~~~

...remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

It is best to clean your own house before
expecting others to clean their house.
We can fall into the habit of being critical of others
while excluding our own faults.

We are used to seeing the big picture of our lives.
We often make excuses for how we are...
how we act...what we say.

There was a woman who was always
complaining about everything all the while failing to see
those good things in her life.

This gospel is about judging others mainly for their faults.
We are so fast to criticize another person...
Their words, actions, even how they dress
 and their physical appearance.
When we look beyond, there we will find their essence.

...the measure with which you measure 

will be measured out to you...

To me this is just another way of stating the golden rule
of doing unto others...

If you judge you will be judged.
If you view others as you would want them to view you
everything changes.
Judging others is a self-centered waste of your time.

I invite you to look for that which is good in others.
If we can learn to be honest with ourselves
we will be able to see those around us differently.

In life the only person we can truly change is yourself.
As we come into a closer relationship with God
he alone can teach us how to whittle down
the beam in our soul.

As we chip away at the beam in our eye
the splinters in the eye of our neighbor will
no longer be a bother for us. 

Chipping away at your own beam is the only way
to see beyond the splinters in the eyes of others.

This takes time...whittling is tedious...
it takes patience and attention.

May God Bless you
with an understanding heart.

~~~Peace~~~