Image by Adam Crowe via Flickr
Remember the phrase, "When you point a finger at someone remember you have three pointing back at you?" Do you remember that one? Well, Christians need to learn from that. We do a whole lot of finger pointing and it sure can come off as judgmentalism (not, of course, that I'm pointing fingers at anyone here :) ). It seems we have a habit of being more concerned about all the wrong that we see in others' lives than our own.
I was reflecting on this last night as I came across the following quotes:
"It is a cheap zeal that reserves its passions to combat only the sins and temptations of others."
-- D.A. Carson
"Our own share of evil is not removed by condemning evil in others."
-- Adolf Schlatter
Then, of course, there's what Jesus said in Matthew 7:3-5:
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
So much time and energy in the Christian Church is taken up be the condemnation of others. It happens, I would argue, in all denominations and nondenominations. It puts Christians on the news. And it keeps us from following Jesus.
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