Awkward
Moments
“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?
Luke 6:41
When Keith noticed the large piece of
plastic lying in the office parking lot he’d decided to leave it
lay and see how long it took before the responsible party decided to
clean up after themselves.
That had been almost a month ago, and
still it lay wedged against one of the bumper blocks in the parking
space. Faded from exposure to sunlight, the refuse had become a
constant irritant. The fact that no one had bothered to do anything
about the litter became a point of contention. There was no way he
was going to pick it up…and it appeared nobody else was either.
In a moment of frustration he accosted
the responsible party, “You park in the same place every morning.
You notice that piece of plastic wedged in the bumper block?”
The man’s response served to
frustrate him even more, “Yeah. Thought about picking it up but
it’s filthy…don’t wanna get that crap on my clothes.”
The grievance was out before wisdom
could stop it, “It’s your trash!”
The man slowly turned to look at Keith.
“No…it’s not. Take a closer look.”
Stunned, Keith walked over, bent down
and picked up the weathered plastic, and was instantly sorry for his
accusation. What he thought was this man’s litter was, in fact, his
own. It was the wrapping from his new printer! How had it managed to
get outside?
†
If we would spend more time policing
our own actions instead of scrutinizing what others are doing we
would be doing ourselves a great favor instead of the injustice we do
by keeping track of other’s supposed shortcomings.
Had the pastor been willing to pick up
the piece of plastic when he’d first noticed it he could have saved
himself weeks of unnecessary frustration, and a very awkward and
embarrassing moment.
Taking the opportunity to help someone
instead of criticizing them might just save us an awkward moment;
something we should keep in mind the next time we are tempted to
judge.
Prayer
“Father, help me
overlook the actions of others and focus on sweeping my own side of
the street. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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