Before I Correct Someone Else
“First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
(Luke 6:42)
There’s an old Southern saying – “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” It’s our own way of saying that you shouldn’t get too busy correcting someone else when you haven’t taken the time to correct yourself. Jesus used a different analogy. Essentially He said we shouldn’t worry about the speck of sawdust in our brother’s eye until we have taken care of the plank in our own. To employ another analogy – “Sweep your own doorstep before worrying about someone else’s.”
Why are we so good at picking on everyone else’s faults when we have so many of our own? I think it’s a diversion – it we focus on the shortcomings of others, then we don’t have to consider our own. If we have a problem with bad language, we’d rather focus on someone else’s alcohol problem. If we have a problem with pornography, we’d rather focus on someone else’s homosexuality. We often justify our self-righteousness by saying, “Well, at least my sins aren’t as bad as theirs’.”
As Christians, we have been called to correct one another. For example, Paul confronted Peter when he was wrong about avoiding the Gentiles in certain company (Gal. 2:11-12). That said, it’s not wrong to confront a fellow believer with his sin, but we need to make sure we’re not being hypocrites. Before confronting a brother or sister about their shortcomings, we need to ask God to forgive our own and take the needed steps to repent. Then we will be in a position to help others with their sins.
(Luke 6:42)
There’s an old Southern saying – “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” It’s our own way of saying that you shouldn’t get too busy correcting someone else when you haven’t taken the time to correct yourself. Jesus used a different analogy. Essentially He said we shouldn’t worry about the speck of sawdust in our brother’s eye until we have taken care of the plank in our own. To employ another analogy – “Sweep your own doorstep before worrying about someone else’s.”
Why are we so good at picking on everyone else’s faults when we have so many of our own? I think it’s a diversion – it we focus on the shortcomings of others, then we don’t have to consider our own. If we have a problem with bad language, we’d rather focus on someone else’s alcohol problem. If we have a problem with pornography, we’d rather focus on someone else’s homosexuality. We often justify our self-righteousness by saying, “Well, at least my sins aren’t as bad as theirs’.”
As Christians, we have been called to correct one another. For example, Paul confronted Peter when he was wrong about avoiding the Gentiles in certain company (Gal. 2:11-12). That said, it’s not wrong to confront a fellow believer with his sin, but we need to make sure we’re not being hypocrites. Before confronting a brother or sister about their shortcomings, we need to ask God to forgive our own and take the needed steps to repent. Then we will be in a position to help others with their sins.
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