I can see clearly now
- Gary Fritsch
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
Jesus is the master of hyperbole. He loves to use imagery that catches our attention and forces us to consider an issue in our lives. Today's example in the Gospel is perhaps the most obvious one, but it comes with a little twist.
Jesus' makes his primary point very clear: don't judge someone else, when you yourself are guilty of the same thing. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, etc. This is pretty easily understood on the surface, yet it is still a problem that many of us face. Why is that?
This is the first part of the twist - the log in our eye makes us blind. We become blind to our own sinful habits. We might even pair this with the saying 'love is blind'. We become comfortable or even comforted by some of our habitual sins, and so we are quick to dismiss or discount anyone who might point them out to us, just as we might if we were enamored with a love-interest that was not particularly good for us. We overlook the problems or issues because of our infatuation.
The second part of the twist is this: deep down we are aware of our faults and failings and we detest them. Because of this, we are quick to notice and critique these particular shortcomings in others. Often it is the very thing that we ourselves are guilty of that we react most strongly to in others.
A personal example for me is timeliness. I want everyone else to be on time, and when things are going well, I am on time. But I often try to squeeze other things in between, and that causes me to run late. I hate being late, but I often am. I REALLY HATE when other people are late, or worse - when they make me late. I can remember being ridiculously angry when my kids made me late for a baseball game that I was coaching (even though I was part of the reason we were late). I just did not want to admit my part in it - I wanted to blame someone else. I share this thinking that some of you may also have experienced something similar but hoping that you haven't. Regardless, it is a log that I have mostly removed from my eye but I'm still working on a few splinters left there.
So think about those things that you are quick to judge or react strongly to in others and examine yourself. When you do, you might find some things to work on, and you might also discover some compassion for your fellow man and their shortcomings.
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