Posted by
KenUSA on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:32:22 PM
The Wooden Beam In Your Own Eye
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but you do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” Mt.7.3
We see the world through our own eyes and perceive it in our own minds. What we think about something we see can be very different than what the next person thinks about the same thing. A farmer may see a stone in his field as an impediment to his prosperity, while an artist may see fortune in the very same stone. This is the healthy outcome of recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses and coupling them with vision.
The same is true for our behavior. We tend to se something we like to do as “good”, even if evidence surfaces to suggest otherwise. Very often we and our friends and family have similar likes and dislikes, so our attachment to activities and behaviors is reinforced. This is a good thing when what we like is, in fact, good. This is a bad thing, obviously, when the thing we like is bad. This is the true origin of peer pressure.
Sometimes a loved one will tell us they are worried about our behavior, health or spending habits. Our response to genuine concern should be gracious and appreciative. A mature person will examine the merits of these observations and make adjustments where necessary. If our actions are righteous, there is no reason to be defensive.
So what would make an otherwise intelligent person resentful of the loving concern of a friend?
Denial.
When we see something we like, we want it to be a good thing. The more we like it, the more we will that it be good. Conversely, when we don’t like something, we look for reasons for it to be bad. These reasons justifying the goodness and badness of things do not need to be rooted in reality for us to come to believe them.
These justifications are called denial by therapists, attachment to sin by the church and they were called “the wooden beam in your own eye” by Jesus.
The admonition of our Savior to “remove the wooden beam in your own eye first: then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye”, serves to teach us to use discretion when confronting a friend with a problem, but more than that, He tells us that we will be better able to help after we have removed denial from ourselves.
Another observation about these “splinters”
A penny seen from twenty or so feet away looks very small, but up close it can completely cover your eye. This analogy is to indicate that a behavior or habit is only the tip of the iceberg. It may be almost imperceptible to others, but the attachment to it can taint our perception of everything in our lives. It will prejudice our thinking, decision making, child rearing and money spending. It will choose our mate, our friends and our jobs. It will stand as an obstacle to communion with God.
There is no greater obstacle to spiritual growth.