Monday 22nd June 2020. Read 2 Kings 17:5-18, Psalm 60:3-13,
Matthew 7:1-5
“Why do
you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your
own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)
Why do I
notice the speck in my neighbour’s eye but do not notice the log in my own eye?
Simple answer: I can’t see the log. Isn’t the log bigger than the speck? The truth
is that I have an ego that likes to think of itself as perfect. I become blind
to my faults and limitations even though I can barely stand these very limitations
in others.
I guess
you may have heard the saying that “if you want to catch a thief, employ a thief.”
In reality, that which I try to fight in others is the very reflection of my
own darkness. If only I am able to tell myself the truth, then I can come out
of the darkness.
From time
to time, God gives me the opportunity to hear the truth from others but the
truth, being too bitter to swallow is perceived as an insult. Rather than
accept it and begin to make amends, I start fighting the person who was
courageous enough to tell me. I become defensive and start arguing that I am
right while they are wrong. I surround myself with praise-singers instead who
only help to inflate my ego. Persons who tell us the truth are not easy to come
by. People would rather praise you just to make you happy to get something from
you.
To see the
log inside, we must practice the act of examination of conscience. At the end
of each day, begin by recalling the good things you did that day. Then go
through your day again, this time identify those things you are ashamed of. You
may want to write down everything and if you do, this becomes your own
spiritual journal. By examining our conscience every day, we soon begin to see
the log in our eye.
Jesus is
not saying we shouldn’t correct others. He says “first take out the log in your
own eye, and then YOU WILL SEE CLEARLY to take the speck out of your
brother’s eye.” You cannot help someone simply by judging and condemning them. If
you have never been in that person’s shoes, you would never really understand
what they are going through. First, cure your blindness, then you can see what
the problem is.
If you want
to change the world, be the change. Work on your inside. Not many people can
compose and sing a beautiful song but almost everyone is an expert in judging a
bad song. It is easier to criticize than to create. We like to blame our
inadequacies on others. In our first reading today, we see how the people of Israel
suffered because they refused to listen to several prophets that God sent to
them who warned them to repent.
Don’t be
stubborn. Look inwards and begin to work on those things that others have said
to you which you brushed off as mere insults. They are not insults, they are
just glimpses of the log you cannot see.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, give me the courage to change and to be a better person every
day. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the
12th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 2 Kings 17:5-18, Psalm 60:3-13,
Matthew 7:1-5).
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