DON'T PICK ON YOUR BROTHER

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Brethren, if any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.

~Galatians 6:1

Reread that scripture focusing on the last part, not the first.

 Whether we like to admit it or not, when our egos lead, others failures do tend to give us a sense of superiority, just as the scripture suggests. (How does this book know us soooo well?) 

 We are convinced that we are basically good, our own shortcomings just momentary lapses of good judgement or justifiable 'mistakes'.  Others screw ups? Ehhh, not so much. Isn't it so very easy to look from the outside in and formulate a clear picture of just what someone else needs to do to fix their mess?

Much more difficult is what the last part of this scripture instructs -- look inward to keep an attentive eye on ourself.

 We are busy folks, running to and fro, living this life to the fullest, making a living, raising children and making memories.  Time to sit back and reflect on just exactly who we are and why we do what we do is rarely available.  And if it is, we turn on some background noise to drown out the voices in our heads - especially if those voices are being critical of our own actions.

 But this verse makes it very clear that we cannot help others if we have not first worked on ourselves. In fact, it tells us if we're not controlled by the Spirit, don't even try to take that splinter out of your brother's eye!  There is the spirit that worketh in this world - the liar that would tell you to remove the splinter and rub salt in the wound - and then there is the Spirit of God. Which are we listening to more often?

If we're comparing our actions to our mother, our neighbor, our friend, or our enemy instead of to Christ, it is highly unlikely we are being controlled by the Spirit of God. Christ is our example, no one else.

 Do as I say, not as I do simply doesn't cut it.  If we're going to wear the Christian label, if we're going to claim to follow Jesus, we have to take the time to look inward and examine our motives, what makes us tick.  Quite honestly, it is only when we do so that we can see how truly fallen we really are. It's an ugly, but necessary task.  

 Are we loving others, or attempting to manipulate them?  Are we focusing on Christ, or self? Are we being ruled by fear, or by the Spirit?  Thankfully, when all the 'ick' that is in us is revealed, Christ says 'you are forgiven'.  But we have to bring the 'ick' into the light, first.

 Nobody's perfect, but until we're willing to acknowledge our own shortcomings, it is probably best we pray that someone else would gently correct our brother's shortcomings.


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