Two boulders, one for each eye!

My wife returned from her brief vacation last Friday and now things seem to be back where they are supposed to be. We are back in our places and playing those silly games like: Who's the most forgetful. I can't remember us being able to play this game when we were younger but it seems to be one that we both get better and better at as we age. Pretty soon we will need to play a game involving how many times we set and unset the security system as we gather the things we need piece by piece for whatever reason we are leaving the house. Fortunately, at this stage we can both still laugh about it but that doesn't mean that we are unaware how this eventually could get out of hand. This is what popped into my mind this morning and I grabbed it and held onto it before it got away from me and therefore it is what I am serving up on this early moonlit morning on this Monday, June 8, 2009. I suppose when she forgets something it is just her being forgetful. When I forget something it has to be the stress I am under, or the distractions that dog my steps, or perhaps other unknown factors because she is the one who is forgetful, not me!

Maybe I forgot to remember that I am just as prone to be forgetful as the next person. However, we as individuals typically don't see ourselves in the same way that we see others. Jesus made that humorous observation about the fellow who couldn't clearly see the tiny splinter in the other fellow's eye because of the huge boulder sticking out of his own. The problem was how the man would not look at his own failings (even though they were huge) because he was too focused on the other person and what small incidental failing he might discover in them. (Matthew Chapter 7) Ouch! Does that sound familiar? It does to me especially where I live. Jesus said the guy with the boulder in his eye should spend time working on his own glaring issues before dissecting the other person's problems. I will tell you by experience that fault finding can become habit forming and it often starts almost incidentally in passing as a fleeting funny observation that can become problematic.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to laugh at our own times of tripping ourselves up or in sharing in the same in our mate or others we are close to. The problem comes whenever we see everyone else's missteps but never focus on our own. I've also noticed how that negativism can become entrenched in our way of seeing life often resulting from a bitterness in the way we evaluate others. I need much work in this area and I suggest many of us most likely do, that is, if we would admit it. Having a respectful and wholesome view of others does not mean we would agree with everyone in their way of living or in their way of seeing things. We can never compromise what we know in our hearts to be right, however, everything should be done from an understanding of our own failings and in love for others. I've been around folks who are very unpleasant because of their caustic personalities which feeds on their constant finding fault and their putting down of others. My wife and I used to have some friends that were prone to this type of feeding frenzy and we would often share a meal together. Over time we began to notice how contagious their negative approach was and we agreed to limit our exposure because of not wanting to become like them. When I was a kid I heard my grandmother often say that we should not say anything about someone if we couldn't say something good. While that may not be a universal law it is a reasonable place to remind us all of the power of our thoughts, words, and way of assessing other folks. I do pray that you and yours will have a great rest of the week. Amen. ......More later.