While deep into our spiritual practice of study, isn’t it curious how some verses of the Bible just seem to be as if in bold, 24-point type while others seem to be in fine print italic to our eyes?
We will see a verse that applies not to us but to other people and say to ourselves (and often anyone who will listen), “Ah, ha! See how the Bible says those people are sinful and engaged in sinful practices!”
Then there is the verse that applies to ourselves. Yet, we cannot see. It’s as if the print were so small that we just scan right past it.
There are Christian leaders who have divorced a woman and married again–often to someone much younger. Jesus expressly told us not to do that. Yet, is there a church that preaches against that? (I am not saying that is a bad thing, mind you.)
Yet, these same people who have been forgiven by the church point to other people about whom Jesus was silent and deny them the humanity of leadership and sacrament.
We humans are so representative of the person described by Jesus who is so concerned about the speck in another’s eye that they ignore the log in their own.
It is time to pray ourselves out of such hypocrisy. Pray for self-awareness. The first step to repentance. Perhaps our study needs to be more focused on those verses that apply to us and less on those that apply to others.
Faith Venture 
Leave a comment