41 “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?
Jesus had a way with word pictures. He captured the nature of humans in some of the most poignant word pictures. Here is one. It makes perfect sense. You can’t expect to be able to help someone take the speck out of their eye with a great big wooden house beam stuck in your own eye. The visual impression of this makes me laugh. The man with the house beam is leaning forward with a pair of tweezers. But of course the beam keeps getting in his way, not only of his arms and hands as he tries to manipulate the tweezers ever closer to the other’s eyes, but it also blocks his own vision of the work area. He wants to help his friend, but is unwilling to take the steps necessary to really help. It is like the drunk trying to get his drunk friend home safely, taking the keys from his friend and hopping in the driver’s seat himself, only to pass out in the process. This is not to say that we should not help others unless our own lives are completely in order. But we should recognize our own dependence on the Lord, and not think we have something in ourselves to offer. If we have anything to offer, it is the Lord’s. We have emptiness that the Lord is able to fill. Then He can use us to help others for His glory. Our responsibility is to not be blind to our own impediments, the large wooden beams that block our ability to help others. If we admit the beam, then the Lord will remove it. But we must be willing to acknowledge its presence. How quickly we see the faults of others, but at the same time are unwilling to admit our own. The Lord is able to take off our blinders and allow us to see our beams clearly, if we are willing to let Him get close enough to us. Are you willing to let Him get close?
The Arnold Journey 