ON THE VANGUARD

SAWDUST AND 2x4s
"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 7:4-5

True fact...I am not perfect. I know, right? I just heard many gasps and felt a decrease in the Earth's oxygen level. But it is true. As much as I strive for perfection in all I do, I am not perfect. That point was made clear to me this past week while at work. I was asked to write a letter that involved a person's name and details about a situation they had experienced. While I managed to get the details of the situation correct, I also managed to type a wrong name in error. When it was pointed out to me, I quickly made the needed change and redistributed the letter. In my boss' opinion, as well as mine, it was an honest mistake. In the client's opinion, it was sabotage.
I tried everything within my power to let the client know that I was not out to create problems. I quickly involved my manager and took the needed responsibility to correct the issue, but the more I tried to help, the more the client's attitude toward me grew sour. Within no time at all, the client was hurling insults at me and escalating even further up the chain of command. The same client that hours before had shared joy for me working this issue, was now ripping me to shreds before my manager and others higher in the company.
Isn't it sad that when forgiveness is so much easier to give, we stand and give judgment instead? Maybe I am a little distraught over this whole issue still, as it is my job. But it seems to me that this type issue is what Jesus was speaking about in the early verses of Matthew 7. My client was very quick to point out the sawdust in my eye. Now again I am not saying the error was not mine, but I question if this client had ever made an error also. Was I rightly being judged because the client is a saint? Or was this a case where the sawdust in my eye was somehow being seen as a bigger problem than the 2x4 in my client's eye.
What right do we have to judge others? Can we, imperfect people, rightly judge other imperfect people? Perhaps we should take the advise given by Jesus in Matthew 7:1, "Do not judge..." No one is perfect outside of the Trinity. So then why do we put on our 'holier than thou' garments and strut around pointing out the errors of others? The charge given to us was to take out the plank in our own eye before we start judging others. I don't know about you, but for me that will take some time. I have too many judgments I need to work on within myself first before I start pointing out the offenses of others.
I stretch out this challenge to you now. How are you doing with judging others? It is a struggle for you to give grace and forgive the offenses of others, or are you one who voices your judgments and fails to notice the 2x4 extending from your own eye socket? I have tried to be a bit humorous in this devotional, but the matter is serious. It is time we consider putting down our power tools of judgment and work on ourselves as opposed to trying to fix others. Let us get our 2x4 taken care of so we can join ON THE VANGUARD!