In Search of Specks

Reflection 

On multiple occasions lately, I have found myself irritated, annoyed, and grumbling at the selfishness and impatience of others. A car cutting me off on the highway to gain a car length on the road, a cart left haphazardly in a parking lot four feet from the shopping cart corral, wrappers thrown on the ground instead of placed in the trash, and the list continues. It seems like the eradication of ethics and good-naturedness of others prevails. I grumble and huff. I recite the rules internally. I practice self-righteousness. And then, I awake to find my trash in a neighbor’s yard, not because I placed it there but because the storm from the night before blew it out of the recycling bin. And then, I have to return home to find my cell phone and am running late, going over the speed limit in my neighborhood. And the Holy Spirit speaks. . . 

Application

And I am obliged to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and reflect on my eagerness to see the plank. I come face-to-face with my own self-protection and self-righteousness that allows for grace when it comes to my less than stellar actions and disdain for those of others.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“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.” (Matthew 7:1-5)

Scripture makes it clear that my focus, our focus, needs to be on the areas in our lives that need attention. Without this self-examination we are searching for specks in others’ lives and missing the log found in our own life.  

Closing/conclusion

If you find yourself nitpicking the behaviors, words, or intent of another person, I invite you to consider praying to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the sin in your heart that is manifested in thoughts, words, and actions. This posture of reflection and submission to God’s work in your own life will likely leave you (and me) with little time to search for the specks in others, because we will be tripping on the logs in ourselves.

~Maryellen Berry