Looking in Reverse

Scripture — Matthew 7:3-5 (NRSV)

Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is 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 neighbor’s eye.

Devotion

Sometimes we can miss the humor in the Bible. We’re so intent on getting the point right that we fail to see how it’s also meant to provoke laughter.

Take Matthew 7:3-5 for example. What Jesus said about the neighbor, speck, and log is really quite funny. We can see it better if we change a couple of the details.

Suppose, for example, that your front lawn is hopelessly overgrown, with grass blades at least six inches high, not to mention lots of weeds and dandelions. It looks like you haven’t touched your lawn in months. Suppose further that your next-door neighbor’s lawn is just a bit shaggy. It was mown a week ago and is a few days away from the next mowing.

Now suppose you went over to your neighbor and said, “Hey, buddy. You know, your grass is looking a little too bushy today. Would you like me to mow your lawn for you?” If your neighbor weren’t insulted, he’d probably howl with laughter while thinking, “Who are you, O person with jungle lawn, to criticize my lawn that’s not even ready for mowing?”

You do well at this point to stop looking at your neighbor’s house and start looking back to your house. Or, to put it differently, you should engage in some reflection.

The English word “reflection” comes from old French and Latin words that combine re-, meaning “back,” with flect, meaning “bend.” Flect is related to our word “flexible.” In medical usage “reflection” can refer literally to the folding back of a body part. But in more metaphorical usage, reflection is looking and thinking, not about what is in front of you, but rather what is behind your eyes. It’s turning your vision to yourself, your inner thoughts, feelings, motivations, and so forth. So, in a sense, reflection is looking in reverse.

Jesus encourages us to reflect in his humorous use of speck and log imagery. Don’t be so foolish, he advises, to focus on what is wrong with someone else. Rather, pay attention to what’s wrong with you. Deal with that first. And in order to do this, you’ll need to reflect, looking not “out there” but “in here.”

Now, of course, reflection isn’t only focused on what’s wrong with us. When we reflect we’re not looking mainly for the “logs” in our eyes. Rather, we’re looking for many other things, including positive ones. As my colleague Meryl Herr has recently written,

Positive self-reflection is reflection done with a positive, hopeful, or growth-oriented outlook. Reflection can actually contribute to our well-being and help us flourish, but not when it crosses the line into rumination. Rumination is ‘getting stuck in continuous worrisome thoughts and circular thinking about a situation.’ It’s when we stew on the negative” (see “Reflect, Don’t Ruminate: 10 Journaling Prompts to Help You Flourish”).

So, there will be times when our reflection helps us see the “logs” in our eyes so we might remove them. But it doesn’t get mired in self-accusing rumination.

Sometimes self-reflection can involve hearing and not just seeing. For example, when I was in graduate school, I participated in a seminar in which I presented criticism of a fellow student’s paper. I believed I did a fair job showing the weaknesses in the paper. But, later, when I listened to a recording of that seminar, I was shocked. I sounded arrogant and angry. I made my points in ways that demeaned my fellow students. I had a rude awakening, more of a “log in your mouth” than “log in your eye” moment.

That was a watershed event in my life. Because I had been able to reflect – in this case to hear in reverse – I saw myself clearly and didn’t like what I saw. I determined to strive to be more gracious even when disagreeing with someone. For the most part, I’ve been able to do what I once committed myself to do—though there are still times when my emotions get the best of me and I sound just like that self-important and indignant graduate student once again. Lord help me!

By urging us to deal with the log in our eye before we focus on the specks in the eyes of others, Jesus calls us to self-reflection. As we honestly turn our eyes upon ourselves, we’ll see things we don’t like, “logs” that need to be removed. And we’ll also see things that are delightful, flowers of God’s grace growing in us. Wise reflection will empower us to remove the logs while nurturing the flowers so they might flourish.

Banner image by Manja Vitolic on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: “Do Not Judge, So That You May Not Be Judged” (Matthew 7:1-5).

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