Get the beam out!

Something To Think About, Seeing Clearly:

If you were sitting on a hillside listening--in the same time and place--to Jesus Christ, God the Son, preach a sermon, would you dare laugh? I think it would be hard to suppress a chuckle when Jesus using masterful hyperbole and ruthless ridicule of some of the religious leaders of His day said:   “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3–4)     The scene is ludicrous.  Yet, ridiculous as it is, the cartoon is played out in real life every day.   "Guilty as charged."  says the STTA guy. Let's think about this lumber in the eye for a moment.  In the context of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, He identifies the species of fence post this way:   In Matthew 7:1 He introduces His point with these often misquoted, and more often misunderstood words.  "Judge not."  Those who cherry pick these words to use as a shield against any criticism neglect to note that Jesus goes on, in the same breath to condemn this 2x4 in the optical syndrome.  If one is to apply what Jesus says in the rest of the chapter he must exercise judgment.  Jesus does not say to ignore the speck in a brother's eye.  Clearly one reason we ought to rid ourselves of excess lumber is so our sight will be clear enough to actually help our brother who really does need to be rid of the splinter in his own eye.  (v.5)  If we are not to put holy things in the dog's dish or throw our pearls into the hog pen we must first recognize the sacred, properly identify the precious, and make a roster of dogs and hogs.  (v. 6) Those are highly judgmental activities.  I'll let you peruse the rest of the chapter.  You'll find a number of commands and exhortations that require the exercise of judgment.  Even the"Golden Rule," v. 12, requires one to decide, based on how one concludes he would want to be treated--surely in the context of the words of Christ this cannot be "if it feels good do it"--and then treat the other person that way.  What if they have a warped view of what is good and want to be treated differently?  The application of this very charitable principle can be highly judgmental. While Jesus is not giving a blanket condemnation of all judgment, He does come down hard on hypocritical judgment.  When I judge another based on a standard that I will not accept for myself I am on the wrong side of Christ's standard.  Like the Pharisees we have gotten good at this.  You can get some idea of how the Pharisees did this, by reading Matthew 23.  The Apostle Paul condemns a version of this in 2 Corinthians 10:12.  We get very good at hiding our worst faults, and shining a light on what we perceive as the faults of others.  We do the reverse about virtues.  We find ways to explain away our sin--it's different, there are extenuating circumstances, etc. etc.--while we allow no cover for others. The result is we end up attempting the delicate procedure of removing splinters from eyes, with our vision grotesquely blocked with enough wood to build a porch.   It's STTA.

Un-blurring My Vision: Getting Self Out of the Way

Something To Think About, Un-blurring My Vision:

"Boy, did I get that wrong!" If you are like me, and I figure you are, you have often come to that conclusion in your dealings with people.  We are like someone looking at the world through a smudged lens. In Romans 12:3 the Apostle Paul diagnoses one of the causes of blurred vision and prescribes a remedy.   For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)    The Apostle uses a play on words that is tough to reproduce in translation.  Some form of the word phronein, think or mind, is found four times in this verse.  "Don't hyper-think; be level-headed."  All the translations I looked at indicate that what we ought to not over-think is ME--don't think more aboutyourself more than you ought to think.  This focus is made clear as we read the verses that follow.  When I view others around me asking, "What can they do for me, or what have they/might they/could they do for me?"  Or, "How can I use them to better myself?"  I'm looking through a lens smeared with the grease of selfishness.  "Don't do that." the Apostle counsels. Instead, think soberly.  "Hello, my name is Howard.  I'm addicted to thinking too highly of myself.  It's a bit complicated but Paul tells us that our thinking ought to be calibrated by faith.  In this context faith describes the way in which we are able to have a right relationship with the Lord.  Part of that new God-me relationship is the fact that God has gifted me so that I can "[b]e devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor."  (Romans 12:10)   More than half a century ago President Kennedy famously captured the thought, "Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country."   This is a metric that is often emphasized in Scripture. See Jesus' words known as theGolden Rule, Hissummary of the spirit of the law. or the example the Lord, Himself established in His coming to earth.   In our self-obsessed world the Bible challenges us to look on others with love--best defined as a determination to do that which will bring the highest good for the object of affection.  Think John 3:16. If you are like me, and, again, I figure you are, we've got some lens cleaning to do.    It's STTA.

Something To Think About, Blurry Vision:

It was a foggy day at the beach, where my family recently gathered for vacation.  The one souvenir my wife wanted to bring home from our gathering was a family photo.  Everyone packed the appropriate clothing.  We showed up at the appointed time.  The camera was set on ten-second delay and fog or no fog, Kathy got her picture. It would be a good time to use an "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." or "When the going gets tough, the tough get going," cliche'.     Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night nor fog of day stays grandma from getting her picture. But the truth is there wasn't any fog.  It was late.  A storm was on its way.  In our hurry I didn't notice that the lens on my camera was smudged--probably sun-screen.  When we quickly looked at the pictures, we just thought the view-screen was fogged by the humidity.  The lightning was flashing, so I took the baby--it's what grandpas do--and headed to the house. There are lots of ways I see things that aren't really there.  I suspect I'm not alone.  Here are just a few of smudges that cause our view to be skewed. Prejudice--"Don't confuse with me with the facts.  My mind is already made up. Projection--like when I project the way I think and feel onto you, and assume that is how you think, and feel. Pack-think--allowing my thoughts to be shaped by "my group" or by the way all "those people" are..   Perspective-blindness--that's when I assume that I am the completely unbiased viewer, and that my perspective is completely objective.  This is never true. Lord, sharpen my vision.  May I see things the way they really are, not the way my out of focus perception sees them. AMEN Stay tuned.  Lord  willing, tomorrow, I'll offer some lens cleaning suggestions. It's STTA.