³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:3 – 5 NLT

What Logs are Made Of…

I’m wondering if you have ever done something like this…

Have you ever told someone not to respond to a situation hastily, and then turned right around and done so yourself?

I have.

It all starts by making an assumption that leads to an opinion that results in a response. That is the very stuff the logs Jesus was talking about in the passage above are made of. These are the things that blind us from seeing anything clearly.

Avoiding Logs

The only way to avoid having a log in our eye is to stop, die to our own opinion, and look straight up to God and listen to what He is saying. He is the only One who truly sees things clearly. He not only sees what is happening in front of us, He also sees what is going on behind the scenes. Listening for the Lord’s perspective is the only way to respond appropriately to any given situation.

A Serious Discipline

Dying to our own perspective and listening for the Lord’s is a serious discipline to learn. It is certainly not something that comes naturally. However, if we learn to walk this way the difference will be enormous. True discernment only comes by living in the Reign.

M