The Pointing Finger
Luke 7:40-50
Every time we point at others, we have three fingers pointing back to ourselves.
While Simon questioned Jesus and condemned the woman for her sins, Jesus stopped him and told a parable to all who were at the dinner. He told of two men who owed money to the same man. One of the men owed five hundred pence; the other owed fifty. (Once pence was a day's wage.) The creditor, realizing the two men could not repay the debt, freed both of them from their debts. They were off the hook.
Then Jesus asked Simon which man would be most thankful for the creditor's benevolence. Simon correctly stated that the one who had more to pay, for surely he knew he could never earn enough to pay the man back. Jesus then related the parable to the current situation. Simply because the woman who had worshipped Him was a great sinner did not mean she loved Christ any less. In fact, she had more reason to love Christ for He had forgiven her of great sins.
Jesus then stated that while Simon was judging this woman's actions, she had done more than Simon had done even though he was the host of the dinner. Simon had not washed His feet (as was customary in that day). He had not kissed Him in welcome (as was also custom). Simon did not even anoint Jesus' head upon arrival. While Simon criticized others, he had neglected to perform the customary duties of a host.
Place yourself in Simon's spot. How often have you criticized others while not doing anything yourself? It's easy to point out a person living in sin, yet is it easy to point out your own sin? As the saying goes, every time you point at someone else, three fingers are pointing back to yourself.
Sometimes we can be like Simon. We judge people for their sins and condemn them for doing things we would never do, yet fail to see our own failures. God does not rank sins higher than others. Sin is sin in His eyes. So while we look to others for their "greater" sins, God sees the sins of our own hearts.
Spend a minute right now looking at your heart. Is there sin you've overlooked while condemning others? Have you had a judgmental or condemning spirit toward other people? God desires that you would look to your own self and focus on keeping a clean heart. Don't let the devil distract you with the sins of other people, but keep your eyes on your own heart and ask God to help you keep a clean heart before Him.
Daily Bible Reading
Esther 6-8 | Acts 6
No comments:
Post a Comment