April 18, 2007

Changing The World

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

It’s a full-time job trying to get people to change. Oh, what a perfect world it would be—if only other people would do what we want!

A plaque in our family room may hold the key to the secret of change. It’s in Dutch, but translated it reads:

Change the World—
Begin With Yourself

Not what most of us want to hear!

Jesus told a parable about the problem of not seeing our own faults. He said, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye” (Luke 6:42).

Being able to see other people’s faults easily without ever noticing my own is not just an indication of hypocrisy. It can be a wake-up call that the problem in a struggling relationship may be me. Perhaps it’s my attitude that needs to change. Or I’m the one who needs to apologize. Maybe I’m the person who needs a humble spirit.

It’s a lesson some of us have to learn over and over. We can’t change others, but with God’s help we can change our own behavior. And when our attitude changes, it may seem as if others have changed as well.

To change can be a wonderful prospect,
Though often it’s met with resistance;
The transformation begins within us
And will take a lot of persistence. —Hess

When God works a change in us He can change others through us.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 3-5; Luke 14:25-35