The Beam and the Speck | Friday
Devotional
Jesus’s illustration of the beam and the speck is both humorous and profound. Imagine someone with a massive wooden beam protruding from their eye, earnestly offering to remove a tiny speck from someone else’s eye. The absurdity makes His point clear: we’re often blind to our own glaring faults while being hyper-aware of others’ minor shortcomings.
This teaching isn’t suggesting we should never help others with their struggles. Rather, it establishes the proper order: first deal with your own issues, then you’ll be equipped to assist others. Self-examination and repentance must precede any attempt to correct someone else.
Daily repentance keeps us humble and aware of our own need for grace. It reminds us that we’re not superior to those we help—we’re fellow beggars showing others where to find bread. This posture transforms how we approach others’ faults, replacing judgment with compassion and condemnation with hope.
When we live according to this pattern—dealing first with our own hearts before addressing others—we experience the abundant life Jesus promised. Joy follows when we align ourselves with God’s design for relationships, characterized by humility, grace, and mutual growth.
Bible Verse
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10
Reflection Question
What “beam” in your own life might God be asking you to address before you focus on the “specks” in others? How might your relationships improve if you approached others’ faults with the same grace you hope to receive for your own?
Quote
When you are constantly working at the beam in your own heart, you are ready to help the brother with the splinter in his eye, ready to help that sister not with judgment, not with condemnation, but a posture of this is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Father, show me the beams in my own eye that I’ve been ignoring. Give me courage to deal honestly with my own sin before attempting to address others’. Help me to approach everyone with humility, remembering that I too am a sinner saved by grace. Thank You for the abundant life You offer when we live according to Your design. In Jesus’ name, amen.