Plank

"How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Luke 6:42

GUILTY!
Me.
I do this all of the time.

Today was a classic example. It wasn't anything that anyone experienced with me, it was in the quite of my devotions that I found myself reading Exodus 20:4-5a "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God."
GREAT verse. Not a thing that I don't agree with. Sadly, I found myself thinking about all of the people who have an abundance of things - lavish homes, fancy new cars, tons of toys, money-money-money. I thought about how they need to read this verse.
Hold.the.phone.
Allison....Allison....Allison - what am I doing? I am thinking about other's "faults", not looking at my own heart. Not focusing on the idols that I put in front of God - looks, clothes, and even my loving family.
Then I started thinking about how many times I am in church, hearing the truth of God's word spoken - wondering if others around me are being impacted. If perhaps my husband got something out of the message.
What about what God is speaking to my heart? It is ignorance at it's finest! How sad.

Why am I sharing this? I'm not proud of this massive fault of mine, but I do want to change this part of my heart. I want so desperately to mind my own business. I feel like a big chunk of Christians struggle with this. Often called "holier-than-thou"  or "cardigan" Christians. Now while I may not fall into those categories, I probably absolutely have a problem with my heart. Whether you are outwardly judgmental - or more of the silent type, neither is good. Both create a cold heart, a sense of entitlement, and give non-Christians the wrong idea about what it means to be one of His children.

I also share this because this slap-in-the-face revelation came to me - not in an hour long quite time with God. Not even in a 1/2 hour. It was a 5 minute devotion time. God can speak to us fast, and concisely. Other times it takes years of molding. Sometimes he whispers to our hearts, other times he may use His booming outdoor voice. Either way, we need to be willing to listen to what He has for us, not what we think others need to hear.

My goals: Change that (ugly) part of my heart. Listen to His gentle whispering as well as his booming outdoor voice.

Side Note: Gavin has a love for books - just like his daddy.