It's so hard to take responsibility for our part in things that have gone wrong. It's much easier to blame others and excuse our bad behaviour and even justify why our actions were appropriate. No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves that we are somehow entitled to our attitudes or actions, the underlying layer of guilt and anger continues to build up in us.
Jesus used visual comparison to help us recognize the denial and blaming in us and suggest a way out of it for us. Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. (Matthew 7:5 NLT)
Jesus knows how quickly we unfairly and unkindly judge the actions of others or attach negative motives to what another person says or does. When we find ourselves in a troubled spot with a friend or family member, God invites us to look first at ourselves and our part, sort that out, and then see what part the other person had to play in the incident. The major problem in dealing with life lies within rather than in our circumstances.
Someone has wisely said, "The day you stop blaming others is the day you begin to discover who you truly are."
Freedom comes when we sort out our problems first with God and then with others. King David realized that when he wrote these words in the Bible: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT)
Today, let's take responsibility for our own heart and actions and admit that just like everyone else, we do wrong. Let's ask for, and receive forgiveness from God and find release from guilt.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (Psalm 32:5 NLT)
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