Speckology and plankitis

Remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.   — Matthew 7:5

According to Jesus, it’s a bad idea to major in “speckology” while suffering from “plankitis.” During His Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3).

If speckology were listed n a university catalog, the course description might read: “The identifying and criticizing of small shortcomings in the lives of everyone around you. Very popular course; fills early.”

Should planktons appear in a medical dictionary, it might be identified this way: “A disease that distorts self-perception and renders an individual incapable of recognizing personal faults. Occurs worldwide.”

According to our Lord, the solution is to “remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (v. 5).

It doesn’t take a carpenter or an ophthalmologist to understand the metaphor of Jesus. We’ve all enrolled in the course while suffering from the disease. But today, if we would shift our focus from the specks we see in others to the planks in our own eyes, what a difference I would make for us all!   — David McCasland

The faults I see in others’ lives

Are often true of me;

So help me, Lord, to recognize

My own hypocrisy. — Sper

READ: Matthew 7:1-5

Be quick to judge yourself but slow to judge others.

The Bible in one year:

• Numbers 1-3