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
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! — Cindy Hess
Kasper
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.
From “Our Daily Bread,” copyright
2007 by RBC Ministries,