There’s a Camel in My Soup
Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel! Matthew 23:24
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Picture this: We reach over to pick a gnat out of our brother’s soup only to discover a large, hairy camel sitting in our own bowl. When we lean in to get a better look, he spits in our eye. It’s a camel, all right! Jesus paints a humorous picture of a serious subject—legalism. It’s so easy to find fault with a brother or sister. After all, it’s right there where we can see it plainly. Yet as we point out the gnats—those tiny, pesky faults in others that hover and annoy us—we have shortcomings the size of camels in our own lives!
When it comes to judging, what we need to do is offer our own hearts and minds daily to God so that his grace can redeem our failures. Then we can rejoice in our victories because we know that they are gifts from him. Even when we feel as if we have “arrived” and no longer have any imperfections, we still cannot judge our brother, for now we have a new camel in our soup—pride. Take a moment today and ask God to help you take your eyes off of others’ faults and to help you examine your own heart.
Prayers:
PRECIOUS JESUS, the world judges others by what they look like, what they own, and what they believe. I know that you are a holy God and that sin grieves you, but let my judgment be reserved for my own heart. Help me to show mercy to my brother rather than condemnation. Thank you for extending mercy to me as I extend mercy to others.
Quotes:
When one knows oneself well, one is not desirous of looking into the faults of others.
John Moschus (ca. 550–619)
The One Year Bible Readings for today are: Exodus 19:16–21:21; Matthew 23:13-39; Psalm 28:1-9 and Proverbs 7:1-5.
