Be Still And Know

Matthew 7:3   “Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” This comical illustration is taken from the carpenter’s workshop. Jesus used it to press home his teaching about being judgemental. It’s so easy to spot the shortcomings of other people. Jesus wasn’t suggesting that their inadequacies aren’t real, but rather was encouraging us to look at ourselves and recognise that our failings may be much greater than the little failings of others. He wasn’t saying that we should stop identifying the specks in other people’s eyes but that we should start by becoming far more self-aware. How well do you know yourself? It is very easy for all of us to develop annoying habits and attitudes that are so deeply embedded in us that we don’t see them anymore. When someone points out that we are a little short of perfection, we shrug our shoulders and conclude that people just need to take us as they find us. Jesus suggested that this isn’t good enough. We need to let his light