What's Good For You, Might Be Good For Me

          Lessons are a thing we cannot avoid if we as humans want to grow and learn. Initially, we must face lessons of how to roll over, crawl, and walk; then on to what we can and cannot touch (stove, electrical outlet, etc); further exemplified by decisions we begin to make on our own as children, teens, young adults, and then into full-fledged adulthood. 

          Most often for me, the hardest lessons to learn in life are about my own imperfections. The character flaws that you don't see, so therefore you don't have. How does Jesus put it, "Don't try to pluck out the splinter in your brother's eye when you have a plank sticking out of your own." The flaws that I see most in other people are in fact my very own flaws. The fact that I recognize it says that I readily know what my problems are; yet I only seek to remedy them by proxy, in other people. 

          Sure buddy, I can fix that problem for you. Step by step, here is what Jim must do in order to get right. I've always got the solution to everyone else's flaws, but mine mysteriously go away when the investigative eye is directed at me. 

          The next time I start getting aggravated at people, I might need to step back and see if I'm not just recognizing that behavior because it is in me. Do I rage when something isn't going smoothly? Do I share information about people that may or may not be my business? Is it really my place to put everyone else out on Front Street but keep my life off the shelf?

Enduring Understanding: Often we find ourselves picking out other's flaws when in fact we may be only recognizing our own.