Reading your Bible for today March 8

March 8: Matthew 7:1-6

KJV Key Verse: Matthew 7:5
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Devotion:
So many times we jump in and offer advice to everyone. We are very quick to pick up on what other people do wrong. We are equally quick to try to sweep things under the carpet which we know are wrong!

Yes, it is hard not to judge people, and there is a fine line between judging someone and telling someone they are doing it all wrong to try and change their attitude or ways. So, if you do see someone doing something wrong, the right thing to do is to allow them to see what they have done wrong, but not to shove it in their face telling them they are doing it all wrong. The worst thing you can do is to pull someone up in front of everyone to tell them they are wrong. Has that ever happened to you? How did you feel?

Jesus is watching us carefully all the time. He is minding our steps in life and thought and spirit. If you try to fool someone into believing you are doing it all right when you are not, then the only one you are fooling is yourself! Jesus is the rightful judge, the righteous judge, the faithful judge. Another thing we are good at doing is to pick up on anything small which our friends are doing wrong, even if we are doing it even worse! It is an age old habit we all do at one time or another. And that is what this verse is reminding us not to do. How can we rightfully pick up on what others do wrong when we do that wrong as well? Is not Jesus the only one that has committed no sin?

And then we get to the people who just don't seem to care about what they do wrong, don't care about doing things against the law, even try to make sure they do not do things within the law! What are we to do with them? Well, there are places where the battle has been lost, and to try and confront someone like that would harm you and maybe even your family. Pray for them, that they may see the light, and when they do see a glimmer, then we can go in and support that light.

Points to Ponder:
How many times a day do you put someone else down for doing something wrong?

How many times a day does Jesus complain about how you do things wrong?