Taking The Plank Out Of My Eye

“I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.“– John Green

My hubby Bill and I were driving on Main Street in Lititz this week. Our picturesque town has become a tourist destination, with shops and restaurants lining the local thoroughfares.

Tourists, often unsure of their immediate destination, sometimes wander into the lightly-traveled street to the consternation of local drivers. One such group of sightseers was beginning to cross the road in the middle of the block as we approached.

Bill, nice guy that he is, stopped the car to allow them to cross. The only problem was that as he stopped, the back of our car was still in the crosswalk, blocking it so that another group of tourists, attempting to cross legally, had to wait.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a tone that was more accusatory than I meant it to be, making eye contact with the group of tourists on standby at the crosswalk. Bill and I exchanged a few words which I will not recount here, then continued our journey home.

I sat in silence, thinking self-righteous thoughts about drivers not paying attention to people in crosswalks (as a runner, I experience this often) and tourists clogging up the roads with their oblivious indecision.

Then I had to laugh at myself when I remembered to think, “It’s a good thing at least I am a perfect person.”

Why is it so easy to see (and comment on) faults in others, while being tolerant of our own weaknesses?

I think we may focus on others’ shortcomings because that allows us to overlook our own.

There have been many times when I didn’t see someone entering a crosswalk until it was too late to stop. I have also dithered around while figuring out where to turn in an unfamiliar location and I have jaywalked numerous times.

My new rule for myself is to identify a time when I did something similar before I express irritation with others. Even though I am a flawed person, I hope to still be worth loving.

I think Jesus was onto something when he said, “ 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? 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.“

 

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