Looking Within

“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? 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.” – Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)

How easily do you see the specks in other’s eyes? Do you have a plank in your own? What is Jesus trying to teach here? Do we have ears to hear?

A couple of days ago I was having one bad day. I suppose we all have them, those days where things seem to pile up. It started off good enough, but when I finally got to my computer and opened up my e-mail I was greeted with loads of bad news.
By the time I finished reading through those e-mails I was quite upset. I was upset with how people act, I was upset with what people don’t do, and I was going about blaming people for it.
In the course of being upset I found some angry music to listen to on my phone. I thought, “Good something to help me feel how I feel.” I listened to such music for about half an hour or so until my phone received a call. It was not a happy phone call either and I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with frustration.
After the phone call I pushed the button to resume my angry music selection and yet something else came on instead. It was a gospel song and maybe you know it. A grand voice cried out, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me O Lord standing in the need of prayer.”
How that song got on I do not know… perhaps it was one of those minor miracles we call a coincidence. I call it a miracle and it forced me to stop worrying about others and realize that I have a lot to change about myself before I can go worrying about how others need to change.

That is what Jesus was concerned about as he spoke about planks in eyes. It becomes so easy for us to look at the obvious faults of others that we can somehow ignore our own obvious faults completely. I was not taking time realizing I needed to change. Instead I allowed my anger to keep me wondering why everyone else was so messed up. Somehow through a minor miracle that others might call a glitch of technology I realized that indeed I stood and still stand in the need of prayer myself. If we all take the time to work on ourselves, I cannot imagine the ways in which we can change the world.

With hope and joy,
Garrett

Doing More

“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well.” Matthew 5:40 (NRSV)

You think Jesus meant that? What kind of love acts like this? Have you ever witnessed such love? What happens in the face of such love?

The following story is long but worth it and is found here: http://www.npr.org/2008/03/28/89164759/a-victim-treats-his-mugger-right
Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.
But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.
He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.
"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."
The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"
Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me... hey, you're more than welcome.
"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.
Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.
"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"
"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"
Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"
"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.
Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.
The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.
When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."
The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."
Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."

Kindness in the face of evil can truly do some incredible things. Love instead of hate can change a life. I’m not saying that we can all do this or that it can be done well. What I am saying is that love often wins when practiced, and in the end love will win!

With hope and joy,
Garrett