A couple moved into an old neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, Mildred saw her neighbor hanging laundry on the clothesline outside.
“That laundry is not very clean. It looks dingy. Looks to me, that woman doesn’t even know how to wash clothes correctly!” Mildred said, with a humph. “At least my laundry isn’t grungy-looking!”
Her husband looked up from his breakfast. He said nothing. Every time the neighbor hung her wash out to dry, Mildred made the same comments. By this time, William had become complacent with his wife’s continual comments over one thing or another.
A month later, Mildred was shocked to see a nice clean wash on the line. “Look, William, she’s finally learned how to wash clothes properly. I wonder who taught her?”
William nodded. “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”
And so it is with life ~~
What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.
There’s a familiar parable in the Bible that Jesus told of a Pharisee and the tax collector. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector!”
Jesus continued with what the self-righteous Pharisee bragged, “I fast twice a week, and I give tithes of all that I possess.”
Meanwhile, the tax collector standing a distance away, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
Biblical Principle of Truth ~~
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
In another well-known Bible passage, Jesus says, “Why do you look at the speck in your neighbor’s eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a log is in your own eye? First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye.
Take-Away Truth ~~
With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
While at a small gathering of friends, a woman took out a tissue from her purse and sneezed. Her soft, little ‘choo’ went unnoticed by all, except one lady who piped up, “You don’t even know how to sneeze!”
All eyes turned to the two women. The one who spoke, continued, “When I sneeze, I pop zippers and bust out at the seam!”
Truth of the Matter ~~
Love does not boast.
Boasting is rooted in pride – the desire to put oneself and his accomplishments above others. It is looking to get attention for oneself above putting the interest of others first.
Love others as much as you love yourself. (Words I say to myself frequently)