A Speck in My Eye

And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye (Matthew 7: 3-5, NLT).

I remember first needing glasses when I was in 5th grade. After numerous instances of broken glasses while playing sports, I was so pumped when I could switch over to contacts.

I still remember the first appointment when I learned how to put them in and take them out—the process seemed so complicated at the time. By now, after having worn them for twenty years, I often put them in and take them out without a mirror, in the dark, or while standing on my head. Okay, I’m kidding about standing on my head, but you get the point.

Contacts have been convenient for me over the years when compared to wearing glasses. As a three-sport athlete in high school and a collegiate basketball player, wearing contacts made things much easier and safer for me during practice and competition.

They don’t come without their inconveniences, though. Having to put them in every morning, take them out every night, contacts tearing, and dealing with dry eyes are just a few examples. Yet none of them are as miserable as when an eyelash or a piece of fuzz gets stuck under the contact! Ouch.

My nightly routine always consists of first taking my contacts out of my eyes as I prepare for bed. Sleeping in them, though some people do all the time, is miserable for me. One night recently, as I was winding down and preparing for bed, I had a sharp pain in my eye when I blinked. I tried rubbing my eye, blinking numerous times, and keeping my eyes closed for a few seconds to try and resolve the problem, all to no avail.

As the pain continued to be present with each blink, I found myself staring into the mirror. I was certain there was an eyelash under my contact or somewhere in the corner of my eye, but it wasn’t visible at all! I knew something was causing the pain, so as a last resort, I swiped my finger around the edges of my eyelashes and into the corner of my eye. It was then I saw the tiny little eyelash that had somehow gotten stuck in my eye. Dang! I thought to myself, how could something that small that I couldn’t even see cause that much pain?

In that moment, my mind was drawn to these words: And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye (Matthew 7: 3–5, NLT). As I continued to ready myself for bed, I spent some time reflecting on what that looks like in my life.

I feel very blessed to have a lot of good relationships in my life—a great family and lots of friends from various periods of time in my life. Though I don’t stay in contact regularly with as many as I would like, I do feel like I’m able to do a pretty good job of staying connected. That got me thinking: How often do I choose to focus on getting rid of the speck in my friends’ eyes instead of dealing with the log in my own?

I don’t consider myself to be a highly judgmental or critical person, but it is easy to feel like we know best or have all the answers at times, right? Maybe that isn’t your experience, but I certainly know that can sometimes be true of me. But when I pause and consider that something as small as an eyelash, that I couldn’t even see, had the ability to create a lot of pain in my eye, what might I be carrying in my spiritual life that is like a log in my eye?

That’s a heavy question, but one that’s worth exploring. Of all the things I’ve done over the last four to five years as I’ve journeyed with Jesus, deciding to seek formal Christian counseling as I was working through some very specific struggles is one of the most important choices I’ve made.

One of the biggest things I learned during my time of going to counseling regularly is the principle found in Matthew 7. When we are working through a struggle, whether it’s an addiction, a relationship challenge, loss of employment, or anything that life throws our way, it’s not our ability to “fix” others that leads to growth and healing. Rather, it’s the ability to take a long, and often hard, look at the log(s) in our own eye. When we’re unable to honestly address our own patterns of sin, and we instead focus on the “problems” or “healing” we think someone else needs to address in their lives, we’re actually choosing to live with the pain of allowing that log, or eyelash, to remain in our own eye.

One of my favorite excerpts from the Bible is Psalm 139:23–24: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. When I think about these verses, I am reminded that when I do not ask the Lord to point out things in my life that are offensive to Him, I miss out on an opportunity to grow, heal, and walk more closely with Him. Often, we can’t even see the log, or eyelash, until we have the courage to stand in front of a mirror and look closely at the reflection staring back at us.

It’s a challenge to do this, and it’s much easier to leave our own issues unaddressed while examining the speck in our friends’ eyes, but it is far worse to leave our own issues unaddressed and continue to live with the pain.

When we choose to walk with Jesus and make a commitment to exam what we see when we look in the mirror, He will meet us there with unconditional love. Though it will be painful, it is always worth walking through the process.

Once we are able to deal with the log(s) in our own eye and tell others the story of how Jesus saved us, and continues to heal in our own life, we are then freed and better equipped to walk with others on their journey with Jesus. And that, my friends, is the ultimate gift.