"Your Eye and Mine"

Some timely words from Jesus,

‘Bout the sawdust in their eye,

And how I cannot help them,

And better not to try,

If there’s a log in my eye,

Or sometimes called a beam,

Best get rid of what’s in mine,

Least that’s the way it seems.

‘Cause  I can’t see their problem

If mine is larger still,

Sometimes it’s my reaction,

And an even bigger deal.

So, Lord, rid me of that timber,

A blockin’ up my view,

So I can help my neighbor,

See things better too.

And one more thing I’ll mention,

Before we say good-bye,

And that’s sometimes my blindness,

Is self-induced when I,

See what’s wrong with others,

But not what’s wrong with me,

Just a small reminder,

Of how we ought to be.

“First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5, NLT)

It’s not a sin to recognize what’s wrong with someone. In fact, God may actually show you their problem so that you can pray for them and perhaps reach out and help. But Jesus is talking about being judgmental about the faults of others when we have even larger problems. Clearly, Jesus was calling out hypocrisy, and laying out the necessity of tending to your own business first, before trying to help others. When you are dealing honestly and humbly with your own, you will receive the grace needed to help someone with the speck in their eye. But only if we do so with mercy.

Lord, help us with our problems so that we can be used to help others with theirs, in Jesus’ name.

Photo by John Bye, used by permission. Thanks, John, and God bless you.