That Little Speck

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5 ESV). I have heard this story several different times and several different ways. I really love the lesson it teaches. People are not always as they seem to be, and it is important to remember that when dealing with others. You think you know why someone behaves the way they do. You think you know why someone says the things they do. You think you know their story. You may be wrong. Here’s the story: Jack (not his real name) was in an airport waiting for his plane to arrive. While he was waiting, he decided to get a snack. He walked over to a food stand and bought a bag of cookies. After purchasing the cookies, Jack dropped them in his bag, and walked over to his designated waiting area to sit down. After a few minutes, a stranger sat next to him. Jack smiled briefly at the stranger, and reached his hand down into his bag for a cookie. After a few moments, the stranger also reached down and grabbed a cookie. “What was this guy doing?” Jack said to himself. “Is he crazy?” Jack wanted to say something, but decided to ignore the stranger. One cookie wasn't a big deal. Just then, he reached down and took another one. Jack was getting a little uneasy. Who did this guy think he was? Doesn't he know how rude and strange it was to take other people's things? This wasn't something Jack would ever do, and he expected the same manners from his uninvited guest. This stealing of the cookies continued for several minutes. Jack would take one, and then the stranger would take one. Back and forth. Jack was getting more and more irritated and upset when the stranger looked at Jack. Jack was a little scared. He looked down and saw the stranger holding a cookie in his hand. The stranger broke it in two, and handed Jack one half. After that, he stood up and left without a word. He just smiled at Jack, and nodded his head. This ruined Jack's whole day. He couldn't stop thinking about the rude stranger. How people were raised to act like that he couldn't understand. Still hungry, Jack went to buy another bag of cookies. He walked over to the same counter, and bought some more cookies. As he set them in his bag, he felt something. When Jack looked down, he noticed his first bag of cookies. It was then that he realized he was reaching down into the stranger's bag! He was the crazy one. He was the rude one. He was what annoyed him most. The funny thing is, the stranger didn't seem to mind as much as Jack! Funny how sometimes we really don’t have enough facts or enough information to really make a sound judgment about others and their behavior. Be careful trying to get that “speck” out of your friend’s eye!