ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 29, 2025
I won’t go into the details, but yesterday afternoon, I set down the things I was holding in my hands so I could unlock a door for some folks. There was a piece of wood where I was setting down the items, and I got a rather large splinter under my fingernail. Ouch! Double ouch!! As splinters go, it was pretty big. Yet in the whole scheme of things, it was a small piece of wood. It’s amazing how something so small can be so painful. In Matthew 7, Jesus talks about removing the log from your own eye before attempting to remove the splinter (sometimes translated as speck) from your neighbor’s eye. As I tried to remove the splinter from my own finger, it was initially sort of challenging. It was sticking out, yet my chubby little fingers couldn’t quite grasp it. Not only is it hypocritical to ignore the log in your own eye as you pursue the splinter in your neighbor’s eye, but you’re going to need to remove the log so you can actually focus on the splinter. The splinter in the eye might in fact be more irritating, even painful, than the log. However, if you are asked to help with the splinter in your neighbor’s eye, you’re going to need all the help you can get, including an unobstructed view.
Whenever I am invited to help, I want to bring my best self to the task. Provide me, Creator God, with self-awareness, as I do not want to bring injury because of my own hypocrisy. Amen.
